Archive for September 1, 2007
“American couples are flocking to the hotels of Guatemala City, but not to see the country’s ancient Mayan remains nor the capital’s more limited modern charms. Instead they are flying south in droves in the hope of embracing a bouncing new addition to their families – a baby, priced at about $30,000 (£15,000).”
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
“THE Pentagon has drawn up plans for massive airstrikes against 1,200 targets in Iran, designed to annihilate the Iranians’ military capability in three days, according to a national security expert.” (They can just replicate their success stories from Iraq).
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
“The United Nations has issued a stark warning on the eve of Tony Blair’s first full working trip as international Middle East envoy that the steady growth of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is undermining the prospects for peace. The hard-hitting report by some of the UN’s top Middle East experts suggests that [...]
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
“I’m going home, says Benazir”. (Just go away, says Angry Arab)
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
“Commentators talk of a culture of concealment and opacity. There is no telephone directory, and ministries and offices are not sign-posted. Publicly, nobody is prepared to talk about politics, so questions about Saif al-Islam, the second son of Gadaffi, who has recently voiced a desire for more democracy and reforms, elicit an equivocal response. ‘He [...]
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
“About 250 Israelis have been traveling to Iraq every year, most of them businesspeople, who include a number of defense industry representatives. Most of the Iraq-bound travellers fly through Amman on Royal Jordanian Airlines, according to confidential figures from the airline that TheMarker has obtained.”
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
It still bothers me–but is quite indicative of something global–that my posts that have to do with sexism or gender discrimination generate no reactions or comments whatever. I can write “potato” in a post, and there would be some 20 comments.
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
The Ministry of Religions Endowments (Awqaf) in Egypt did not denounce the murder of Iraqis, Afghans, Palestinians, and Egyptians in Egyptian jails, but it issued a strongly worded statement against Swedish cartoons that it deemed offensive to Islam.
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
This just in. Suzanne Mubarak told Al-Arabiyya TV that her husband is not dead. Repeat. He is not dead, rumors to the contrary not withstanding.
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
Yesterday, I watched the US ambassador in Lebanon say to the Lebanese press: We talked to Iran about Iraq; we talked to Syria about Iraq. We did not talk to Syria about Lebanon. Lebanon’s issues are for the Lebanese. I kid you not. He really really said that. Not a single Lebanese journalist said a [...]
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
Only Ms. Rice can come up with more sophisticated observations on foreign policy than Thomas Friedman: “She said the recent visit to Camp David by President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan gave her some solace, as a reminder that American policies have helped spread democracy and moderation in unlikely places. “I watched the president standing in [...]
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
Let me summarize the new initiative of Nabih Birri in Lebanon: O Hariri Inc. We will do what you want.
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
I can’t stand Egyptian columnist `Adil Darwish who thinks that by wearing a bow-tie he appears civilized. And people I dislike are always favored by Al-Arabiya TV. (He also said that “para-military” means “formerly” in the military.)
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
In the forthcoming AlArabiya’s “documentary” on the Saudi King you will get to watch Isma`il Haniyyah singing the praises of King `Abdullah.
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
Human Rights Watch issued a report in Arabic to respond to the rising Arab criticisms of the organization. You read the report and conclude that HRW people in NY really think that Arabs are idiots. Do you know how HRW defended itself? By citing criticisms of HRW by Zionist fanatics like Dershowitz and New York [...]
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
US “Weapons are always available to blast away at the Palestinians.” (thanks Arun) And Fisk said this: “Syria has accepted almost one and a half million Iraqi refugees – caring for them, providing them with welfare and free hospital services – while Washington, when it isn’t cursing Iraq’s prime minister, has accepted a measly 800 [...]
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
“This is the largest US Embassy built – roughly the size of Vatican City – and at $600 million (£300 million) the most expensive. At a time when millions of Baghdadis outside the green zone receive only a couple of hours of water and electricity daily, Iraqis observe that this project has been completed on [...]
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
US propaganda in the Daily Star? Are you kidding me?
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
“A Marine squad leader executed five Iraqi men after a roadside bomb blast killed a Marine and then told squad members to falsely claim that the men were shot while running away, a member of his squad testified Friday.”
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad
Yesterday, I talked to a Western reporter who worked for the Daily Star in Lebanon. He confirmed to me the heavy-handed intervention by the US government in the newsroom. He also told me that the publisher, Hanna Anbar, once explained his editorial policy–as instructions–to him (in 2004): “No homosexuals. No human rights. And no Syria.”
Posted on September 1, 2007 by As'ad