Archive for January 9, 2009
You would not know
In 2006, readers of the Western press did not know that communists also fought the Israeli attack on Lebanon. Today, you would not know from the Western media that leftists and communists are also part of the resistance to Israeli occupation of Gaza.
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
King `Abdullah’s Request
The Saudi king has acted. He has called on people in Saudi Arabia to perform a prayer tomorrow to end drought in the kingdom.
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
Complete Murder
Complete Murder by Syrian poet Muhammad Al-Maghut (my translation):“I gave it freedomIt gave me prisons.I gave it palaces and fortresses…It gave me huts.I gave it the sun…It gave me darkness.I gave it eloquence, rhetoric, and elucidationbefore kings and clerics,and it gave me stumbleness stutterbefore servants, concubines, and eunuchs.I gave it the road, bridges, andtraffic lights,and [...]
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
Not a briefcase
From a poem by Palestinian poet Mahmud Darwish (my translation):“Oh, my proud woundmy homeland is not a briefcaseAnd I am not a travelerI am the lover, and the land is my beloved!…The archeologist is busy with stone analysishe is looking for his eyes in the burial of mythsto prove that I am:a passerby in the [...]
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
We shall meet
From a poem by Palestinian poet Mahmud Darwish (my translation):“We shall meet in a little whilein a yearin two yearsand a generation….I sip the kissfrom the edge of knives..I am the one in whose skinchains are carvinga shape of the homeland.”
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
Human Rights standards
“Resolution 1860 continues the trend recently favored by the mainstream international human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to equate the clearly disproportionate suffering of the occupied and the occupiers, the victims and the perpetrators of war crimes. For instance, the resolution emphasizes that “the Palestinian and Israeli civilian populations must [...]
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
Zionism is racism
““It’s incredible, but it seems that an Israeli law forbids Jews to adopt non-Jewish children!” he exclaimed. “This apartheid measure must be denounced by the worldwide media, and the international community should apply pressure against Israel to protest this abjectly racist law so the Israeli government will cancel it.”” (thanks Michele)
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
The changing Middle East: The Fat Legacy of Bush
The degree to which this administration is stubbornly ignorant of the Middle East is quite amazing. I was looking today at the various Arab channels, including the Saudi-funded ones, and they could not escape the reality: that today was a Day of Popular Wrath in the Arab world. 100,000 demonstrators in Alexandretta, and tens of [...]
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
They voted against the House’s Support-Israeli-attacks resolution
Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)Gwen Moore (D-WI)Ron Paul (R-TX)Nick Rahall (D-WV)Maxine Waters (D-CA) (thanks Olivia)
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
…without a spear’s wound
From a poem by Egyptian poet Amal Dunqul (my translation):“I die in bed…the way donkeys dieI die, and the horn..is blown in Damascus..I die in the street: in the prefumes and fashionI die, and the enemiestrample on the face of righteousness.Not a spot on my body does not have a spear’s wound..without a spear’s wound..”
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
Psychological War
My weekly article in Al-Akhbar: “Psychological Warfare: Zionism in our bedrooms (and in our minds)”
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
Did you see that?
Did you notice that a handful of people in some of the demonstrations in Jordan today raised the portraits of Usamah Bin Laden and chanted his name? That is in my opinion the work of the Jordanian mukhabarat in order to discredit the protests and to justify their repressions in weeks to come. Barely any [...]
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
Abu Mazen
Now that the term of the puppet president of the PA has expired, we should henceforth refer to him as Puppet Usurper.
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
The Libyan Minister
I have to admit that the Libyan foreign minister has been doing a good job at the UN this week. But don’t get me wrong: one call from a deputy assistant to an assistant deputy to the deputy of the assistant of Rice to dictator Qadhdhafi can get him fired.
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
And in other news from the terrorist state…
“Border Guard officers detained 150 Palestinians illegally residing in Israel. After their investigation, the illegal residents were sent back to the West Bank.” (thanks Marcy)
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
Two developments
Since the onset of the Arab-Israeli conflict, there were at least two major developments that have affected the conflict. The first one came after 1967 when the US officially adopted a policy to maintain Israeli military-technological superiority vis-a-vis any combination of Arab states. The second development is less fancy but no less significant: I never [...]
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
From a demonstrator in Abu Dhabi
“A mass rally for Gaza in Abu Dhabi ubruptly came to an end this afternoon when out of nowhere, tens of police cars with sirens and flashing lights invaded the street that had been closed off for traffic to allow free movement of the procession. Over a thousand demonstrators ( including children and infants in [...]
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
Human Rights Watch
As an insider shared with me internal deliberations at Human Rights Watch it became clear how obsessed they are about “the pro-Israel donors” as they were called in their exchanges. But the director assured them (those who officially expressed concerns over displeasure from “the pro-Israel donors”) that the “pro-Israel donors” would not be upset as [...]
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
Unacceptable
I saw a UN official speak on AlJazeera (Arabic). He is some guy in charge of humanitarian affairs there. He said that the high level of (Palestinian) casualties is “unacceptable.” He said that 30 or less Palestinian children killed per day would be quite acceptable.
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad
Photo caption in the Herald Tribune
“Civilians have been caught in between suicide fighters and a powerful military.”So the hundreds of Palestinians who were killed by Israeli terrorists were not actually killed: they were merely “caught.” (thanks Aisha)
Posted on January 9, 2009 by As'ad