Archive for January 27, 2008
Two amazing–and unsavory–political characters. `Abdul-`Aziz Al-Hakim is loyal to both, the US and Iran. And Khalid Mish`al of Hamas is loyal to Iran…and Saudi Arabia. How do they manage those loyalties?
Posted on January 27, 2008 by As'ad
“C’est à ce moment qu’il dénonce la coopération avec les gouvernements arabes, lançant ses fameux slogans : “La route de Tel-Aviv passe par Amman et Beyrouth” ; “La lutte palestinienne a besoin, pour triompher, d’un Hanoï arabe”.”
Posted on January 27, 2008 by As'ad
Bullock’s obituary in the Independent: “Habash, who trained as a doctor, was then a white-haired, chain-smoking figure who exerted a tremendous fascination on all those he met. Before the war in Jordan, he would hold open house at his offices in Amman, conducting non-stop seminars with any who went to see him. So strong was [...]
Posted on January 27, 2008 by As'ad
This is why one always notes the major difference between the US and the European press. I did some press interviews recently in Berlin, and one is always struck how better informed European reporters are: and it is not genetics. It has to do with the political and press cultures, and the emphasis on training. [...]
Posted on January 27, 2008 by As'ad
The Clintons’ southern strategy in this election is more blatantly racist than Nixon’s southern strategy of 1968.
Posted on January 27, 2008 by As'ad
Angry Arabs and the Arab League. Something significant happened today. It was like a semi-rebellion by Egyptian journalists on live TV. So the Arab League met in Cairo, and the Egyptian state TV was carrying the press conference by `Amru Musa following the meeting of the foreign ministers. From the first question, you knew that [...]
Posted on January 27, 2008 by As'ad
Ù‹When George Habash was a medical student at the American University of Beirut, he heard Syrian poet, `Umar Abu Rishah, read his poetry. He often spoke about that experience years later. I don’t have time to translate, but this is a link to one of the political poems of Abu Rishah. Personally, I like his [...]
Posted on January 27, 2008 by As'ad
Another brilliant move by the US administration. It thinks that it can select Shi`ite leaders for Lebanon. This is quite funny.
Posted on January 27, 2008 by As'ad
“Not a better message. It figured that he would snowbird his strategy, taking his New York subtext of blacks-want-to-mug-you-and-I-can-protect-you down to Florida and switching it to Arabs-want-to-kill-you-and-I-can-save-you.And I wasn’t surprised that he continued to run on fear and divisiveness, zeroing in on Florida the way he used to target Staten Island, Bay Ridge, Queens and [...]
Posted on January 27, 2008 by As'ad
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Posted on January 27, 2008 by As'ad
Look at the headline of Habash’s obituary in the New York Times. It is weird: when I lived in Lebanon nobody cared how the Middle East is covered in the New York Times or the Washington Post. And then you live in the US, this deceptively seems important. And by the way, a quotation attributed [...]
Posted on January 27, 2008 by As'ad
“As the Lebanese army celebrated its “victory†over Fatah al Islam, its commander, Michel Suleiman, seemed poised to become the next president. Today posters and banners in Lebanon declare him the “savior.†He would not be the first president to have punished the Palestinians. Between 1958 and 1964, President Fuad Shehab created an elaborate, ruthless [...]
Posted on January 27, 2008 by As'ad
“Bush is admittedly so unpopular that even Republican presidential candidates rarely mention him.”
Posted on January 27, 2008 by As'ad
Some possible good news: “It has been an uncomfortable few days for President Husni Mubarak…” (thanks Yasmine)
Posted on January 27, 2008 by As'ad