Archive for March 19, 2009
All that you have done to our people is registered in notebooks
” The NCO also related a story about an old woman who was crossing a main route who was shot by the soldiers. “I don’t know whether she was suspicious, not suspicious, I don’t know her story… I do know that my officer sent people to the roof in order to take her out… It [...]
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
The owners of the land wait
A Palestinian child waits at Rafah crossing. (AFP)
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
The corrupt Lebanese political class:
Jamil As-Sayyid (no innocent guy as he was the chief of public security in Lebanon) explains how the electoral law was prepared in 2000. Payback time.
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
Looting in Israel
“The economy is expected to shrink 1.5% this year, according to the Bank of Israel, compared with growth rates of 4% or more in the previous five years. The global downturn is taking its toll; the bank forecasts an 11% decline in Israeli exports, which account for half the value of everything the country produces. [...]
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
White Man Impressed: Booze flows freely in Beirut
“Political candidates vigorously debate the issues, including the possibility of normalizing ties with Israel. Beirut, a war zone not so long ago, once again feels like the Paris of the Middle East. Fashionably dressed young people party late into the night at bars and clubs where the booze flows freely. There are more burkas visible [...]
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
The Message of Ethan Bronner: Poor Israel
“On one hand, there is real concern. Global opinion surveys are being closely examined and the Foreign Ministry has been granted an extra $2 million to improve Israel’s image through cultural and information diplomacy.” (thanks Sarah)
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
For those who are looking for a definition of Zionism
” Israeli soldiers have described wanton killings of Palestinian civilians and destruction of property during the deadly 22-day Gaza war, according to a journal published on Thursday. One soldier spoke of an Israeli sharpshooter killing a Palestinian mother and her two children who had left their home on a path the troops had declared off-limits, [...]
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
No way. Really?
“The U.S. government knew that top Guatemalan officials it supported with arms and cash were behind the disappearance of thousands of people during a 36-year civil war, declassified documents obtained by a U.S. research institute show.” (thanks Toufic)
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
The Sudanese dictator
I watched that clown yesterday: and he was feverishly clowning on the stage. Something is striking about this guy: aside from his repressive rule. He is so dumb and so buffoonish. Bashir is lousy caricature of a military dictator. He is like the stereotype of a dictator in Woody Allen’s movie, Bananas (one of my [...]
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
jealous
“Rail service, airports, utilities and the public sector were hit by work stoppages Thursday, the second major strike in two months, as French unions mobilized against government’s response to the global economic crisis.” (thanks Rasha)
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
zeeee surge, zeeee surge
““David Petraeus is the best general in the US Army, bar none. He also isn’t half as good as he thinks he is.—
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
My debate with the Israeli Counsul General
Here is the information about the event as it is advertised: Israel and Palestine: Peace or Perpetual Conflict? Israel’s Consul General, Avika Tor, and CSU Professor of Politics, As’ad AbuKhalil, will speak on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the role of domestic and regional actors as well as the United States in the resolution of the [...]
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
learn about the enemy
“The Israeli government helped by providing a ready supply of both human and physical capital. Israel has the world’s highest ratio of PhDs per person, the highest ratio of engineers and scientists and some of the world’s best research universities, notably Technion. The country’s native talent was supplemented by the arrival of 400,000 well-educated Jewish [...]
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
the poor
“Now, falling export earnings are exacerbating poor countries’ woes. In theory, the poorest should be cushioned from declining world trade. Even so, the latest data look dire. American imports from middle-income countries fell 3% in the year to November 2008. But imports from poor countries fell 6%; those from sub-Saharan Africa, 12%. The African Development [...]
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
TV matters
“The soaps blossomed under Brazil’s military regime of 1964-85. The generals subsidised sales of television sets to build a sense of nationhood in a large and then largely illiterate country.”
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad
the real Obama
“There is nothing particularly “European†or “socialist†about Mr Obama’s stimulus package. Countries the world over are spending public money in a bid to boost demand and shore up the banks. Indeed, some of the most stubborn resistance to deficit financing has come from Europe, particularly from Germany and the EU finance ministers. Messrs Gingrich [...]
Posted on March 19, 2009 by As'ad