Archive for July 7, 2009
AlJazeera versus Al-Arabiyya TV
Politics aside, the two stations couldn’t be more different. AlJazeera tries to win viewers with extensive news coverage from around the world, while Al-Arabiyya tries to win viewers with extensive focus on the bizarre and Hollywood. Today, they have…
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
Obama coup
“Those critics point, for example, to the American deliberations over whether Mr. Zelaya’s ouster meets the legal definition of a coup, a decision that would set off an automatic suspension of aid from the United States. A senior administration offic…
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
Palestinian olive oil
I received tons of requests for information on the purchase of Palestinian olive oil. Here is one site and another . I don’t know about them and I have no commercial stake. (thanks Mouin).
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
Syrian workers in Lebanon
The Lebanese government (and the Syrian government) don’t care about the plight of poor Syrian workers in Lebanon. The abuse of Syrian workers in Lebanon continue and Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are busy with the precious lives of Isr…
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
Press restrictions that you find adorable
“The UAE’s Federal Supreme Court upheld on July 1 a November 2008 defamation conviction ‎issued by an appeals court in Abu Dhabi. The ruling called for the suspension of the Arabic-language daily Al-Emarat Al-Youm‎ for 20 days and the fining of …
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
Abu Mazen: skills of lying
I watched an interview with Abu Mazen on Al-Arabiyya (the TV station of the brother-in-law of King Fahd) conducted by the Dahlan groupie, Gizelle Khuri (one of my least favorite human beings on earth). I must say that what former Sen. Bob Kerry said a…
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
“Childhood between the grave sites”
You rarely read accounts by those who grew up in refugee camps. You need to read the account of a brave struggler, Nidal Hamad, Childhood between the Grave Sites. Nidal lost his leg and suffered other injuries from an Israeli tank shell during.. the …
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
Nayif Hawatimah
Nayif Hawatimah wrote a long report on the status of the Arab Left. It has been serialized in the DFLP’s mouthpiece, Al-Hurriyyah. Only two parts have been published thus far. I read them yesterday. How awful: full of jargon mixed with empty libera…
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
PA, Hamas, and women
“The Hamas Movement on Monday castigated the PA security apparatuses in the West Bank for kidnapping the wife of prisoner Omar Al-Hanbali one day before his release from Israeli jails in order to pressure him to turn himself in immediately after the…
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
Honduran coup
“Internally split, Hondurans have taken to the streets both in support of Zelaya and in opposition to his return.” Oh, they admit that there is a split. Because if you read the New York Times, you get the impression that there are opponents of Zelaya…
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
A confessed war criminal
““We burned to death 100,000 Japanese civilians in Tokyo — men, women and children,†Mr. McNamara recalled; some 900,000 Japanese civilians died in all. “LeMay said, ‘If we’d lost the war, we’d all have been prosecuted as war criminals.
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
Robert McNamara
A year after I arrived in the US, I was walking around Dupont Circle in Washington, DC when I ran into Robert McNamara face-to-face. I remember that I froze. It felt very odd and a bit disturbing for me: here was the man who throughout my growing-up …
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
Good intentions
“The ecological effects of these developments, however, had not been taken into account. In some cases, corruption in the governments that the bank sought to help undid its good intentions. Many poor nations, overwhelmed by their debts to the bank, wer…
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
Obama Rules: Keep the war criminals in power
“The African union has agreed to change the mandate of its 4,300-strong troops in Somalia to allow them fight against al-Shabaab Islamist rebels trying to take over Somalia. The African Union force in Mogadishu could only protect key sites such as t…
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
American Revolution
“So when you look at the American Revolution, there’s a fact that you have to take into consideration. Indians—no, they didn’t benefit. Did blacks benefit from the American Revolution? Slavery was there before. Slavery was there after. Not onl…
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
UAE racism
“A UAE shopping mall has banned labourers on evenings and weekends, claiming women have complained of being harassed and ‘other unsightly behaviour’, further fueling criticism about the way the country treats its low-paid workers.” As if there are wor…
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
Rioters versus demonstrators
Notice this. When Western media identity with demonstrators they call them “demonstrators” or “democracy activists.” But when Western media (reflecting as always the interests and standards of Western governments) don’t identity with demonstrators the…
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
This is Zionism
“Israeli forces at the Erez crossing stopped a 5-month old baby from crossing into Israel. His mother and five-year old sister both had a permission to leave the Strip, so the 5-year old girl could receive medical treatment in Israel.” (thanks Olivia)
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
The Crown Prince of Jordan
Meet the new Crown Prince of Jordan. His father selected him for his talents and wisdom. (Ad-Dustur).
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad
The Arab University of Beiurt
There are certain things that one can’t but admire about the Nasser regime regardless of all the criticisms that one can pile on (for me, nothing can ever erase the deadly sin of 1967 and the appointment by Nasser of the hashish filled-head, `Abdul-Hak…
Posted on July 7, 2009 by As'ad