Archive for December 4, 2008
Jordan’s King and Queen. An “inside” view of the couple (she/he does not want to be quoted):“His wife is more intelligent and better educated, and that is probably why he leaves some of the heavy lifting to her. However, her work experience upon graduating from the American University in Cairo but prior to marrying Prince [...]
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
“That government, the Palestinian Authority, based in Ramallah, has been arresting Hamas activists across the West Bank as its security officials, newly trained by Jordan and sponsored by the United States, increase their activity there. It has also taken over Hamas charities and shopping malls in the West Bank cities of Hebron and Nablus, replacing [...]
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
I am thrilled to share with my readers–only rarely–some good news: “In a sign of the economic times, Harvard has sent a letter to its deans saying that the university’s $36.9 billion endowment fund lost 22 percent of its value in the last four months and could decline as much as 30 percent by the [...]
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
This is Zionism: “”Niggers don’t expel Jews! This isn’t what we brought you to Israel for!” are just some of the degrading slurs Border Guard officers reported hearing from masked settlers.” (thanks Sobhi)
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
“A former Hawthorne man detained in the United Arab Emirates since Aug. 29 has been tortured and ultimately charged with a terrorism-related offense, according to a lawyer with the ACLU of Southern California.”
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
“Forces loyal to Mahmoud Abbas, the Western-backed Palestinian president, are rounding up suspected Islamist activists and allegations of torture and abuse of legal procedure are mounting sharply.”
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
“Allegations of torture, arbitrary arrest and other abuses of due legal process have long been common from Palestinians in the West Bank. But lately more such accusations are levelled not at Israeli occupying forces but at fellow Palestinians, part of the bitter factional rivalry that has divided families and made the two Palestinian territories fiefdoms [...]
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
“His mother was killed in the Holocaust.” Why is that relevant to his having sex with a minor? In fact, it is insulting to his mother to drag her into his sex offense. (thanks Ali)
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
Human Rights Watch has a bizarre obsession with Lebanese right-wing lawyer, Muhammad Al-Mughrabi (an advocate of Bashir Gemayyel and an early cheerleader of the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon). If Human Rights Watch would devote 1% of the energy and resources that it put for Mughrabi’s sake for the plight of foreign domestic workers, we [...]
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
“The prosecution continued this strategy the second time around. Moreno explained to me that the US government “decided to use as much evidence of violence as they could get away with to inflame and scare the jury.” She continued: “The government conceded that my client, Ghassan Elashi, nor any of the other gentlemen, ever participated [...]
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
“Violent Jewish youths in Hebron are motivated by “hatred for the State and hatred for police,” a senior security official told Ynet Wednesday night, addressing the tense atmosphere and ongoing violence in the West Bank city.” Notice that their hatred for Arabs is not even worth mentioning.
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
““People are getting shot at,†said Manoj Kodithuwakku, one of the Sri Lankan workers, as what sounded like gunfire cracked in the background. “It is pandemonium in here.†Sampa Fernando, 31, also from Sri Lanka, agreed. “I saw them shoot with my own eyes. As soon as that happened I ran.”
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
“At Guantánamo Bay, the early interrogators not only abused the detainees, they tried to belittle their religious beliefs. I’d heard stories from a friend who had been there that some of the ‘gators even tried to convert prisoners to Christianity.” (thanks Zaki)
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
“Ferguson doesn’t excuse the brutalities of imperialism so much as he looks past them: he tends to view the empire as a giant balance sheet. Where others see exploitation, Ferguson sees investment opportunities and capital flows. However, for all his concern with cash transactions, Ferguson is not an economic determinist.” (For me, Ferguson is a [...]
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
This writer does not understand Zizek but at least the latter succeeds in irritating the hell out of the New Republic.
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
Bring back the 60s NOW. (thanks Dallan)
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
“A senior Pentagon official said recently that Israeli misgivings are taken into account prior to any decision regarding U.S. military assistance to Lebanon. This was also echoed by the Lebanese media today, which said that Washington would never help Lebanon with heavy weapons that could pose a threat to the Jewish state.” (thanks Olivia)
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
Thus spoke a Western policy analyst: “”Raiding people’s houses and snatching people away creates a very negative impression in the communities,” said a senior Western policy analyst, working in the region.” (thanks Carlos)
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad
Rashid Khalidi offers the most favorable (and most unrealistic) assessment of the Obama administration’s foreign policy in an interview with Al-Akhbar.
Posted on December 4, 2008 by As'ad