Archive for August 15, 2008

I am officially confused. I thought that shoes are a tool of insult only in Arab culture. What gives?

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

I swear. I am beginning to think that when U.S. empire picks puppets around the world it insists that they be dumb, very very dumb. Look at this dude:“Q: You’re working on the status of forces agreement that determines what role U.S. soldiers should have in Iraq. What are your thoughts on a timetable for [...]

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

Influenced by American foreign policy rhetoric, I now will insist on being referred to as “the democratically-elected Angry Arab.” Take note NOW.

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

Lebanese sense of humor. I have written before about Lebanese-style candid camera shows. I wrote on how they push things to the very extreme. Every sketch ends with the target trying to hit the people playing the joke on him. Just now, they had a sketch on New TV’s version where a guy goes to [...]

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

From an Israeli newspaper–ISRAELI newspaper, for potato’s sake: “More than 100 nations have agreed to ban the use of cluster bombs. Russia has not.” (thanks Nate)

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

“ On 30 May 2008 the Committee on Academic Freedom of the Middle East Studies Association wrote to you to express our deep concern over the arrest and detention of Professor Matrouk Al-Faleh of the Department of Political Science at King Saud University. Professor Al-Faleh was arrested sometime after leaving his house on May 19, [...]

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

“Intelligence Failure. U.S. intelligence-gathering and analysis on the Russian threat to Georgia failed. So did U.S. military assistance to Georgia, worth around $2 billion over the last 15 years. This is something to remember when looking at recent American intelligence assessments of the Iranian nuclear threat or the unsuccessful training of Palestinian Authority security forces [...]

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

“Police, soldiers and military officers prefer to “turn a blind eye” instead of handling incidents in which settlers attack Palestinians in the West Bank.” No. Really? (thanks Zaki)

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

“During a 9 August speech in the Alexandria Library, Mohammad Basyouni commented on his 14 year term as ambassador to Israel : “I have no Israeli friends and all my memories of them are as miserable and boring, I wasn’t an ambassador I was an intelligence man, did you think I worked as an ambassador?””

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

“Jaffa pool restricts entry of Arab residents”

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

“”Oman does not formally apply the boycott,” said Ohad Cohen, head of the commercial mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. “Nevertheless, from such a decision, until comprehensive and diverse large-scale trade, there are still some challenges that need to be met.”” (thanks Ali)

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

“You’d be hard put to recall after all the fury over Russian aggression that it was actually Georgia that began the war last Thursday with an all-out attack on South Ossetia to “restore constitutional order” – in other words, rule over an area it has never controlled since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nor, [...]

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

“As a group of right-wing activists were beginning their march toward a plot of land near the Shuafat refugee camp on Tuesday, a Jerusalem Post reporter entered the area in hopes of covering the story.”

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

Ad-Diyar newspaper published last week a long interview with the Salafite activist, Omar Bakri (who was expelled from U.K.), in which he elaborated on ties between Hariri Inc and Lebanese salafatism.

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

“Scratch a little deeper and it is not just that it is shallow for the Lebanese to be obsessed with their appearance. There is bewilderment at the morality of the rich and sociable being interested in beauty when there is so much horrific stuff happening around them. Can these people, the thinking goes, literally not [...]

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

“Meanwhile, the rest of the Arab world looks on, unable or unwilling to help the people of Gaza. Arab communities in the Diaspora are little better. They make charitable donations or support aid agencies, and talk about the tragedy of Gaza. But none has taken the bold and fearless action this emergency needs. Much has [...]

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

“The leader of an Army special forces team grinned as he held the severed ear of an Afghan man he suspected of being an insurgent after he shot him and left his body in the desert, a Green Beret testified Tuesday.”

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

Does this not prove that the judiciary in the U.S. is totally independent from the executive branch? “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, four princes and other Saudi entities are immune from a lawsuit filed by victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and their families alleging they gave material support to al-Qaeda, a federal appeals court [...]

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

My favorite thing about the whole coverage of the Georgia situation in the U.S. is the way the White House and media are feigning outrage over Russian actions. They just are aghast that a country can send its troops (across the border) under pretext of national security and defense. I mean, the U.S. would never [...]

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad

If I were Putin, I would have toppled the Georgian government, and installed a puppet government and then I would have said: We are here in Georgia at the invitation of the “democratically-elected” government of Georgia, and we will stay in Georgia as long as we are needed, and not one day longer. And I [...]

Posted on August 15, 2008 by As'ad