Archive for February 12, 2008
For those who don’t care, I shall make comments on the US election on AlJazeera (Arabic) 20 minutes from now. (AlJazeera will have me speak on Chinese affairs before they ask me to speak on Arab affairs. It is the Saudi-Qatari reconciliation, is it not cute?)
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
“King Abdullah II holds a number of decorations from various countries. He is a qualified frogman, pilot and a free-fall parachutist. His other interests include automobile racing, water sports, scuba diving and collecting ancient weapons and armaments.” Free falling? It is true. He is free-falling as we speak. (thanks Hicham)
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
The prose of Lebanese writers in Saudi media. Randah Taqiyy Ad-Din writes that Beirut airport is “the symbol of openness and modernity.”
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
The plums. From where. From where. When I heard about the car bomb in Damascus, I turned to Syrian TV. What a mistake. Forgot that when there is breaking news in any Arab country, the last place to watch is the state’s TV station. In fact, when other Arab TV stations were reporting about the [...]
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
“Les rumeurs sur des liens financiers entre le défunt Premier ministre du Liban, Rafic Hariri, et Jacques Chirac sont anciennes.” (thanks Tareq)
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
This sign in Manarah in Ras Beirut says “Saudi Arabia is off limits.” (thanks Ziyad)
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
Unfree at last. Unfree at last. Thanks to House of Saud (and their protectors). They are unfree at last. “At a meeting in Cairo called by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, a charter was adopted allowing authorities to withdraw permits from offending channels.” (thanks Amahl)
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
In October, Walid Jumblat, speaking at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the research arm of the Israeli lobby, called on the US to send car bombs to Damascus. In an unusual coincidence–don’t now jump into conclusions and start peddling conspiracy theories, a car bomb just exploded in Damascus. Coincidence. Mere, coincidence, OF COURSE. [...]
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
Anti-Semitism of Israel’s advocates. It is quite observable that many among Israel’s advocates in the West and East are anti-Semites. It is quite observable that leaders of pro-Israeli organizations often cover up the anti-Semitism of Israel’s advocates. `Ali Salim, is a silly Egyptian playwright, who wrote a silly book about his car ride to Israel, [...]
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
This really impressed Human Rights Watch’s Sohpie Richardson: “In October, when Dutch parliament members came to Washington to complain to congress about Guantanamo Bay, Lantos reminded them that if not for the United States, they would be a province of Nazi Germany.”
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
I am surprised that Tom Lantos was not awarded the Nobel Prize in peace (or chemistry or physics) in his life time. I mean that.
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
Saudi Fatwawawa: if it the man does “it” unintentionally, it is excusable.
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
This just in. Human Rights Watch will name its unit that monitors human rights violations in the Middle East: the Tom Lantos Center of Inconsistent and Hypocritical Standards on Human Rights Violations that will perpetuate Generous Funding for HRW.
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
I don’t understand why anybody would give a penny to a private university. If you have money to spare, you should give to public universities only. Do you think that I would EVER give a penny to American University of Beirut or to Georgetown University? For me it is like me giving money to Rudy’s [...]
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
New TV now runs propaganda commercials on behalf of “Iraqi businessmen.” The ads, like those that run on Al-Arabiya TV, read as if they were originally written in English and then translated into Arabic. Conspiracy? What conspiracy?
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
The biggest mystery in Arab politics, is the tension and quiet conflict between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. One more time: if anybody has insights or information on this, I am interested.
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
It is not that Tom Lantos wholeheartedly supported and endorsed every Israeli war and every Israeli killing of Arabs, but he also always believed that Israel did not go far enough. Here, enjoy some of the legislative work of Tom Lantos.
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
One Zionist fanatic is replaced by another Zionist fanatic.
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch. This organization is accumulating a record on human rights as rosy as that of George W. Bush. This NPR report on Tom Lantos is just indicative of the standards that the organization employs in order to keep the millions flowing to its funds. Sophie Richardson was almost in tears [...]
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad
Angelina Jolie of Arabia. Nir Rosen sent me this, and insisted that I post: “when angelie jolie visited iraq as a representative of UNHCR in 2007 she also visited the al walid camp on the iraqi side of the border with syria. over one thousand palestinians who had lived in baghdad have fled there for [...]
Posted on February 12, 2008 by As'ad