Archive for April 2, 2008
The Russian ambassador in Lebanon visited (in full view of the press) Wi’am Wahhab. It can only mean that the Russian government is fed up with Walid Jumblat.
Posted on April 2, 2008 by As'ad
“A former University of South Florida professor in prison on contempt of court charges has lost 32 pounds in a monthlong hunger strike.”
Posted on April 2, 2008 by As'ad
Excuse me o Jerusalem Post: but what is controversial about what I said? Or is it the humanness of the Palestinians that you are objecting to? And by the way, Israel will have to submit to the will of the Palestinians. “But IAW speakers in years past have been notably controversial. In 2006, Toronto’s IAW [...]
Posted on April 2, 2008 by As'ad
The principled criminal gangs of Al-Anbar (who were rented by Saddam before they worked for Al-Qa`idah and before they were rented by the US occupation) have not protested demanding their cash payments for a week now. Does that mean that they have received their cash payments? Now, I don’t want you to think that they [...]
Posted on April 2, 2008 by As'ad
“Last week’s death of Stephanie Kuleba, 18, of South Florida, during breast augmentation surgery has drawn attention to what some describe as a growing trend. Kuleba, whose parents say she sought the surgery to correct an inverted nipple and asymmetrical breasts, died Saturday of what may have been a rare genetic reaction to general anesthesia.”
Posted on April 2, 2008 by As'ad
“Liberation”–non-stop. “Abdul Qader, his chest and leg wrapped in white bandages, began to cry — not out of pain, but loss. He remembered seeing the American Humvees, then a hail of bullets. He remembered seeing his close friend and neighbor, Abbas Ramadan, shot as he clutched his 2-year-old granddaughter, blood oozing from her head. Abdul [...]
Posted on April 2, 2008 by As'ad
The Jordanian Queen has launched her youtube thing. I have not known anybody since Hollywood celebrities in award shows who speaks in cliches and bland language. Her speeches are always vapid. Here, she asks you to send her your stereotypes. Please do. I will send mine: Hi lousy Queen of Jordan. I have a stereotype [...]
Posted on April 2, 2008 by As'ad
Who can deny that northern California has the best climate there is? On the East Coast, there is a harsh winter, followed immediately but a hot summer. Yes, there are days that feel like spring but they can be counted on the toes of one foot only.
Posted on April 2, 2008 by As'ad
Badr Al-Haj (the foremost collector and publisher of old photographs of the Middle East) sent me this: “Attached is a photograph of Tyre taken in 1887 by unknown French photographer who visited Syria, Turkey and Egypt.”
Posted on April 2, 2008 by As'ad
“You almost feel like Big Brother in the sky, kind of looking down on these people as they go about their day-to-day lives,” said Hall, speaking aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Persian Gulf after returning from a recent mission to Iraq. “You almost feel like you want to tell them, [...]
Posted on April 2, 2008 by As'ad
A list of destroyed Palestinian villages. (thanks N.)
Posted on April 2, 2008 by As'ad
All Saudi media are celebrating: they are proud that CNN (i.e. the White Man) has called the Saudi King “a maker of history.” I would not call him a maker of a chair or a cake, but that is just me. (thanks Jamal)
Posted on April 2, 2008 by As'ad
I always thought the word ragtag best applied to the Mahdi Army. But now we learn that the Iraqi security forces (Badr militias, really) are more ragtag than the Mahdi Army. And do you notice how scant the coverage is in the US press about the consequences of what happened in Basrah and the deteriorating [...]
Posted on April 2, 2008 by As'ad