Archive for February 12, 2009
Internet trash
This is a fanatical (Moroccan) Islamist website: it specializes in disgusting anti-Jewish hate. They also have the habit of taking articles and then rephrasing them (like changing references to Israel or to Zionism to references to Jews and Judaism) in order to fit into their hateful rhetoric. They did that to my article here. They [...]
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
Curse or miracle?
“As this columnist has pointed out periodically, there is an uncanny, if unscientific, correlation between financial crises and efforts to build the world’s tallest building. Look no further than Kuala Lumpur in 1997, Chicago in 1974, and New York in 1930.” (thanks Saeed)
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
European Orientalism
I really am an admirer of European Orientalist training. Of course, there have been political problems but some aspects are still admirable. I say that having finished Laurence Louer’s Transnational Shia Politics: Religious and Political Networks in the Gulf. This book carries the best of the fruits of European Orientalism: rigor, language training, immersion in [...]
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
Mini-Hariri
Honestly. A cucumber has a better personality, than mini-Hariri. A tomato has more charisma. I really feel for his wife and kids: I can see them dozing off as soon as he starts talking to them.
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
Dahlan thugs with IDs
“Israel will distribute dozens more Very Important Person (VIP) cards to Palestinian public servants and security officers, Palestinian sources said on Thursday. Some 130 Palestinians currently hold VIP cards.” (thanks Olivia)
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
Wahhab news service in English
MEMRI should now be dubbed: Wahhabi News Service in English
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
Go fetch a beverage for Hillary, Ban Ki-moon
“The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, repeated Tuesday his demand that Israel allow significantly more humanitarian aid into the beleaguered Gaza Strip, and he announced that he would send a team to investigate the bombings of United Nations facilities there. The human rights organization Amnesty International issued a statement criticizing Mr. Ban for being [...]
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
Reparations
“Iraqi parliamentarians are demanding Israel pay billions of dollars in reparations for a 1981 Israeli attack on an Iraqi nuclear reactor, Baghdad’s daily al-Sabbah reported Thursday.” Will Iraqi puppet parliamentarians dare ask the US for reparations?
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
I don’t like flags…
I don’t like flags, and I don’t like nationalisms, but for Palestine and the Palestinians, anything and everything. (thanks Dina) (AP)
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
Listen to Philp Rizk
““I was held for four days, but the people of Gaza continue to be held in a form of prison, and there are others in Egypt who are also being held,†he said. “I want to move the attention to others who are still in this situation.—
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
Well said
“The Egyptian government has grown increasingly intolerant of those who criticize its policies regarding Gaza. Egypt has insisted that it is Israel’s responsibility to provide for Gaza. But because of the recent war and the humanitarian crisis there, many Egyptians have called on their government to open its one border with Gaza, at Rafah. The [...]
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
Dubai miracle…my potato
“Instead of moving toward greater transparency, the emirates seem to be moving in the other direction. A new draft media law would make it a crime to damage the country’s reputation or economy, punishable by fines of up to 1 million dirhams (about $272,000). Some say it is already having a chilling effect on reporting [...]
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
No excuses
“So why did Obama refuse to answer? Simple. Because if he did, the media would have reported it as a gaffe. Reporters either know nothing about the Middle East or, for the most part, have adopted Israel’s perspective.” (thanks Bassam)
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
Is that too much to ask?
Haaretz: “Christians in Jerusalem want Jews to stop spitting on them” (thanks Molly)
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
Hampshire College Divests
“Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, has become the first of any college or university in the U.S. to divest from companies on the grounds of their involvement in the Israeli occupation of Palestine.” (thanks Omar)
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad
On Philp Rizk
Many readers, including dear friends, wrote to me about two posts yesterday about Philip Rizk. One of them was written by a reader. I think many have missed the point. It was not about or against Philip: and I only hear the most wonderful things about the man. It was about the discriminatory repressive policies [...]
Posted on February 12, 2009 by As'ad