Archive for December 13, 2008
House of Saud and Taliban: Part II
“Washington, too, has endorsed the concept of an expanded Saudi role in the region. State Department officials have praised Saudi efforts to combat terrorism, and White Housespokeswoman Dana Perino, speaking in mid-November 2008, said the Bush administration supports Karzai’s initiatives to push for Saudi-brokered talks. While President Bush is “skeptical about what the Taliban’s ultimate [...]
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
He will not pretend he never heard of Fanon
“”We smoked cigarettes and wore leather jackets. At night, in the dorms, we discussed neocolonialism, Frantz Fanon, Eurocentrism and patriarchy.””
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
A fanatic on fanatics
“Amos Oz: Arab-Israeli conflict kept alive be fanatics”. Fanatics like you?
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
So I was talking to the governor of Illinois the other day…
That would be a good attention getter.
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
He wants his picture taken with Obama
“James Zogby, director of the Arab American Institute, a Washington lobby, said Arab-Americans also were optimistic that Obama was uniquely positioned to achieve a breakthrough. “He gets it. He really gets it,” Zogby said of Obama’s understanding of the core issues. “He believes in reconciling diverse communities.”” And he wants a job for a family [...]
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
Is that an angel on your shoulder?
“That very large majorities of the American public believe in God, miracles, the survival of the soul after death, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the Virgin birth will come as no great surprise. What may be more surprising is that substantial minorities believe in ghosts, UFOs, witches, astrology, and the belief that they themselves [...]
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
Maybe he will find WMDs in…Gaza
“A new appointment for the Middle East? US President-elect Barack Obama is considering appointing former Secretary of State Colin Powell as the special peace envoy to the Middle East. Sources in Washington told Ynet on Saturday that Powell’s appointment as special envoy is “a serious option”.””
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
A trend in Middle East Studies?
I was looking at the new issue of MESA newsletter this morning. Something was quite striking: the overwhelming number of job ads were in Arabic language. Is that because the instruction of Arabic receives funding from outside the university budget? And what does that say about Middle East studies if only jobs in Arabic are [...]
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
This passes as a peace offer
“Israel has proposed annexing 6.8 per cent of the illegally occupied West Bank, the chief Palestinian negotiator has said in his first detailed comments about the stalled US-backed negotiations.”
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
This is the Cedar Revolution
“Lebanon has urged the Philippines to lift a travel ban to the country to help relieve a shortage of maids…Human rights campaigners say the danger to maids in Lebanon is not so much political conflict but from abuse. Human Rights Watch says most of Lebanon’s domestic workers, who originate primarily from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, [...]
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
In the Israeli and European press, but not in US press
“To the Jewish West Bank settlers who attacked Palestinian people and property in Hebron this month, it was Operation Price Tag — an attempt to increase the price to the Israeli government of evacuating them from ground they view as sacred. To the prime minister of Israel, it was a “pogrom.—
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
Promises of more wars in the last days of Bush?
“Bush not done working on Israeli-Palestinian issue” (thanks Marcy)
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
Inadvertent massacring
“…and a scrupulous recounting of the massacre of hundreds (some say thousands) of Palestinians by Lebanese Christian Forces inadvertently facilitated by the Israeli Army.” (thanks Souheil)
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
This is Zionism
“In recent weeks, several Palestinians have seen their homes demolished and one family has been evicted from a house they lived in for 52 years, to allow radical Jewish settlers to move in. During one demolition in East Jerusalem, a helmeted Israeli paramilitary border policeman was filmed apparently headbutting an unarmed Palestinian woman, inflaming passions [...]
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
There is a Virgin Mary in my…MRI scan
“A 42-year-old woman without insurance and mounting medical bills plans to sell an MRI scan of her brain in which the image of the Virgin Mary seems to appear.” (thanks Julie)
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
Cleric of Senility
The Cleric of Senility, Shaykh Al-Azhar and Mubarak, now says that there is indeed a siege of Gaza and called on Israel to end it. If (or when) the Revolution comes, do you know what people would be inclined to do with clerics of despots?
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
Israeli violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty
The UN counted those violations by Israel of Lebanon’s sovereignty between Nov. 15 and Nov. 30: 15 airspace violations, 5 sea violations, and 8 territorial violations. The Security Council met and urged Israel to increase its violations.
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
A Suicide al a Abu Nidal suicide
A Syrian worker was found dead from hanging in the Biqa` in Lebanon. New TV said that he was found hanging from a “wool scarf” with his hands tied behind his back. Lebanese police ruled it a “suicide”. Apparently, the man beat himself mercilessly, and then tied his hands behind his back, yelled some racist [...]
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad
Jimmy Carter in Lebanon: Take II
Jimmy Carter continues his visit in Lebanon. He met with the Speaker of Parliament and discussed Carter’s unsolicited offer to “monitor” the Lebanese parliamentary election. Birri told the press afterward that the US needs monitoring. Salim Al-Huss was right in that the monitoring will not monitor the external funds raining on Lebanon in the election [...]
Posted on December 13, 2008 by As'ad