Archive for August 18, 2009
Al-Akhbar banned in Syria Yesterday
Al-Akhbar was banned in Syria yesterday. The Syrian censor did not like my references to the Syrian regime in the article on Bashshar and Jumblat.
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
Lebanonese achievements
“Lebanon emits more greenhouse gases per capita than the world average, said an environment ministry expert during a workshop held at AUB.” Oh, no. Now some Lebanese would think that this is some great achievement worthy of awards.
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
MEMRI and Arab intellectuals
This is very funny. When MEMRI sends a bulletin of some article by some obscure writer who wrote something that fits into the Zionist agenda, they always go out of their way to make that writer more important than he/she is, and they always don’t prov…
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
Beaten for being gay
“A Portage teen has a skull fracture and other injuries after he was attacked and beaten up last week. He says he was beaten because he’s gay. 15-year-old Steven Harmon was hanging out with a friend when he says two 17-year-olds attacked him in the…
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
Hamid Karzai: the candidate of the Feminist Majority
“Last week, though, Human Rights Watch discovered that a revised version of the Shiite Personal Status Law had been quietly put into effect at the end of July — meaning that Shiite men in Afghanistan now have the legal right to starve their wives …
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
Workers in Lebanon
Ziad sent me this picture. He took it in the Biqa`: he says that the men on top of the car are workers but he could not identify their ethnicity or nationality.
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
MEMRI would love this
Sometimes columnists in Saudi media write not for their readers but for MEMRI and Zionist organizations in Washington, DC. Here, Hazim Saghiyyah, columnist in Prince Khalid bin Sultan’s mouthpiece, Al-Hayat (and in Hariri media like NowHariri) calls o…
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
This is Zionism
“The dream underlying Israel’s plans is encapsulated by a wall that separates a settler’s town from the Palestinian town on a nearby West Bank hill. The Israeli side of the wall is painted with the image of the countryside beyond the wall – but wi…
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
Lebanonese news
Laure sent me this: “You will find this very funny. In connection to what ziad sent you earlier re Lebanon VS China basketball game, a new group was created on facebook named “Petition for FIBA to give Lebanon a Wildcard invitation to the World Cup”…
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
killings in Iraq
“The killings began in the vast Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, a stronghold of Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia, and spread to many cities across Iraq. Mahdi Army spokesmen have promoted fears about the “third sex” and the “feminization” of …
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
Taliban
“The dirty little secret is that the renewed insurgency could have been avoided. The vast majority of Afghans still hate the Taliban. They remember the days of heads and hands getting lopped off in the National Stadium, and men flogged because their…
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
Fled
“A diplomat facing criminal charges following a head-on collision between an SUV and an Ottawa police cruiser in June has fled the country. Marwan Al Harbi, 30, who worked for Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Ottawa, was scheduled to appear in court Monday…
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
Israel has the answers
“An Israeli official is linking President Obama’s actions with anti-Semitism.”
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
Mubarak’s priorities
“Egypt [ian regime] is working hard to secure the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, but Israel has added “terms and conditions” that are impeding progress, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in an interview over the weekend with the Amer…
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
Qadhdhafi
Not only do Arabs live under dictators, they live under kooks, literally–as Joe Biden would say. (thanks Sousan)
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
On Leftist Feminism in Lebanon
I posted this item yesterday, and today I received this letter (and I cite with permission): “Greetings from Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth (ULDY)As followers of your blog, we read an inaccurate post that deals with one of our youth camps. We wo…
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
An American liberal
“Left unmentioned was the fact that Daschle, in his capacity as a high-paid consultant at the law firm Alston and Bird, is once again working closely with lobbyists for UnitedHealth, the largest U.S. industry player, aiding the company’s effort to conv…
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
Talking about sex
I hardly would call sleazy shows a la Jerry Springer “talking openly about sex.” There is a difference between talking openly about sex and sleazy exploitation of sexual issues for titillation. (I once used the word “titillate” in a class on gender a…
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad
Freedom Agenda
“Those in the Middle East who once lamented President George W. Bush’s hasty retreat from his 2004-06 Freedom Agenda…” Hasty retreat? Freedom Agenda? Lamented? Only you ever took “the Freedom Agenda” seriously, and no one but you “lamented” becau…
Posted on August 18, 2009 by As'ad