Archive for March 26, 2009
Cartoon
“The Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish rights group with more than 400,000 members in the United States, said the cartoon is meant to denigrate and demonize Israel.” What kind of weird logic is this? And tell this ostensible human rights group (human rights my…shoes, and shoes are very offensive in Arab culture) that [...]
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
Saudi-Syrian (faustian) bargain
Some mysterious Saudi-Syrian agreement has been reached over Lebanon. And any agreement between two lousy regimes can’t be good. A well-placed source tells me that suddenly all Saudi and Iranian (and even some Syrian although the regime is not known for paying) money has suddenly stopped arriving into Lebanon to fund the warring factions in [...]
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
Neither Hamas, nor Fath
“The Hamas-run police force in the Gaza Strip said on Wednesday it was investigating the death of a prisoner after a Palestinian human rights group said the inmate was tortured during interrogation. The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) said one of its researchers had seen marks on the hands and legs of Jamil Assaf [...]
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
3200 clerics fired in Saudi Arabia
3200 clerics have been fired in Saudi Arabia since Sep. 11 because they upheld “wrong ideas.” Of course, the House of Saud retained Bin Ladenite, kooky clerics.
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
OBAMA BOMBS
“NATO-led troops shot dead two Afghan farmers who were watering their land in east Afghanistan, a police chief said.”
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
The secular left in Lebanon
Comrade Iskandar on the need for a secular left in Lebanon.
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
John Hope Franklin died
John Hope Franklin is dead. I don’t have much time to write about him (and I have a bad cold or flu–I can never tell the difference). I never met Franklin but he really touched me deeply by his writings. I so strongly recommend his autobiography. I remember that I was reading it and hoping [...]
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
Strike
“”French employees of a US company have barricaded their boss in his office south of Paris as they demand better terms for workers facing redundancy.”” (thanks Raed)
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
Zionist sexism
“About 100 religious soldiers left a Paratroop Brigade assembly earlier this month to avoid being present at the performance of a female singer, the army weekly Bamahane reported last week. Their departure stemmed from their belief that halakha, or Jewish religious law, prohibits them from hearing a woman sing. Their position has the support of [...]
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
US media on Saudi King
“The question is how much he can accomplish before his death or dotage. Physically and mentally, Abdullah is still going strong, says Ford Fraker, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Riyadh. “The physical power of this man is remarkable,” Fraker says. “When you shake hands with him it’s like shaking hands with a tree trunk. He [...]
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
B’Tselem
Asa sent me this (and I cite with his permission): “Tactically speaking, I’m generally more reluctant to criticise this group than HRW or something, but this recent press release really takes the biscuit (as we say over here): “The leadership of Hamas is obligated to release Shalitimmediately and unconditionally.” Contrast that with their weak and [...]
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
tax exempt
“For many years, the United States has had a policy against spending aid money to fund Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which successive administrations have regarded as an obstacle to peace. Yet private organizations in the United States continue to raise tax-exempt contributions for the very activities that the government opposes.”
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
Israel: your years are numbered
“The winter assault on the Gaza Strip was officially portrayed in Israel as an attempt to quell rocket fire by militants of Hamas. But some soldiers say they also were lectured about a more ambitious aim: to banish non-Jews from the biblical land of Israel. `This rabbi comes to us and says the fight is [...]
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
Total wars
“A government minister in Sudan is accusing the United States Air Force of killing dozens of people in that north African country this past January – but the semi-official American version of the story is very different. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin has been told that Israeli aircraft carried out the attack. Israeli [...]
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
Israel brags: we only killed 295 civilians
“The tally says 295 civilians lost their lives — about a third of the figure of 926 reported by Gaza’s Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (www.pchrgaza.org), which published a full list of names earlier this month.” (thanks Sarah)
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
Israel brags: we only killed 295 civilians
“The tally says 295 civilians lost their lives — about a third of the figure of 926 reported by Gaza’s Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (www.pchrgaza.org), which published a full list of names earlier this month.” (thanks Sarah)
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
Dahlan in the mosque in Ramallah
Dahlan is making a come back according to this article. And what better venue for the Dahlan comeback than a…mosque?
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
Dahlan in the mosque in Ramallah
Dahlan is making a come back according to this article. And what better venue for the Dahlan comeback than a…mosque?
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
Sacked?
“Retaliating against what he deemed a gesture of public support for his political rivals, former Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas sacked the PA’s ambassador to Russia Afif Safia. Abbas was enraged over reports from Moscow that Safia had attended a rally in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip organized by Hamas.” I could [...]
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad
Assassination in Lebanon
There is still speculation about the assassination of PLO’s Kamal Midhat in Lebanon. I spoke to a well-placed PLO source. The widow of Midhat is privately accusing Fath rivals of Mihdat (specifically, Sultan Abu Al`Aynayn and Khalid `Arif). Only last Saturday, Mihdat told a PLO source that “`Abbas Zaki sold me out.” There is a [...]
Posted on March 26, 2009 by As'ad