Archive for September 25, 2009
The Zionist Lobby
My weekly article in Al-Akhbar: “The Zionist Lobby: the Foreign Policy Making Process in the US”
Posted by As'ad at 2:21 PM 09/25/09
The collapse of Dubai
Christopher Davidson writes his first piece for Al-Akhbar: it is about Dubai.
Posted by As'ad at 11:15 AM 09/25/09
Man of Sleaze
This man is just incredible: almost as bad as the ex-president of Israel. (Obama does not look amused at all). (Huffington Post)
Posted by As'ad at 8:16 AM 09/25/09
A good cause
This is a good time to help a good organization that does good work.
Posted by As'ad at 7:43 AM 09/25/09
This is Israel
“A new report from Adalah shows how the courts and police attempted to stamp out opposition to Operation Cast Lead. “This is a time of war, and every incident harms the people’s morale.” This was not a sentence in a right-wing journal, but rather …
Posted by As'ad at 7:38 AM 09/25/09
First hand report from Yemen
A person in the north of Yemen (who wants to remain anonymous) sent me this: “You were right about the no interest in the western media in the Yemen story. i have been here for three weeks trying to push the story in the west and it has been extreme…
Posted by As'ad at 7:34 AM 09/25/09
The Muslims are coming; the Muslims are coming
“But this week, some conservative Christians have called the event a threat to Christian values. In a statement, the Rev. Canon Julian Dobbs, leader of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America’s Church and Islam Project, warned that the service…
Posted by As'ad at 7:33 AM 09/25/09
Embezzlers, crooks, and rapists…unto the nations
“A former finance minister and Olmert associate, Avraham Hirshson, recently began a five-year prison sentence for embezzling funds. A former health minister, Shlomo Benizri, is serving a four-year term after being convicted of bribery, fraud and obstru…
Posted by As'ad at 7:26 AM 09/25/09
News from Israel’s District 9
“While the Israeli army’s crossings into Gaza have gone into near-lockdown mode since Hamas wrested control of the coastal strip more than two years ago, Israeli human rights organizations have regularly stepped in to intervene, with some success. …
Posted by As'ad at 7:25 AM 09/25/09
Arabic in Kurdistan
““After the 1991 uprising, Kurds came to regard themselves as independent,” Qirgaiy said. “They no longer felt obliged to learn Arabic and made no effort to master it.”” But in practical terms, that will only isolate them from the surrounding.
Posted by As'ad at 7:24 AM 09/25/09
Kurds and Israel
I saw a recent survey of Iraqi Kurdish attitudes to Israel. A majority favor a relationship between Kurdistan and Israel. My opinion is this: I have always favored self-determination for Kurds and fulfillment of their national aspiration. I reckon t…
Posted by As'ad at 7:17 AM 09/25/09
Protests at Berkeley
I was just complaining on Facebook yesterday about the apathy on US college campuses and high schools. There are exceptions. These are scenes from the protest at Berkeley yesterday (the newspapers carried really unrepresentative pictures). (thanks M…
Posted by As'ad at 7:15 AM 09/25/09
Michael Moore is the best development for the American Left in decades
“But one of the biggest barriers I’ve found in my research around worker cooperatives is not just government and companies being resistant to it but actually unions as well. Obviously there are exceptions, like the union in your film, United Electrical…
Posted by As'ad at 7:12 AM 09/25/09
Enough of Shi`ite clercis in Lebanon
Nasib Htayt complains about the dramatic rise in the number of Shi`ite clerics in Lebanon and their lifestyles. (thanks Qasim)
Posted by As'ad at 7:10 AM 09/25/09
Elliott Abrams on Salam Fayyad:
A source from Williams College in Massachusetts sent me this report (and does not want to be identified): “Elliot Abrams gave an “off the record” talk on Obama and Israel to a small group at my college today. No press or publicity; one plus is they k…
Posted by As'ad at 7:06 AM 09/25/09
Walid Jumblat
Clients of the US who feel betrayed by the US are bitter like jilted lovers. Yesterday, Walid Jumblat said that the US is ruled by “Netanyahu and AIPAC.”
Posted by As'ad at 7:05 AM 09/25/09
Khalid `Alwan
Lebanese are commemorating the anniversary of “Wimpy Operation”. When on one day in the summer of 1982, a Lebanese resistance fighter was walking on Hamra street and was so offended by the sight of Israeli terrorist soldiers arrogantly sitting in a st…
Posted by As'ad at 6:58 AM 09/25/09
Reform: the case of the Saudi kingdom of horrors
“Yet, while the government often tries to discredit or play down the influence of reformists, it is aware of the influence of young Saudis who have grown up with satellite television and the internet and expect their country to change. Last month, it b…
Posted by As'ad at 6:57 AM 09/25/09
American liberal jurisprudence: the case of Judge Brandeis
“Brandeis was never a practising Jew, but he was a passionate convert to Zionism. He understood that for many American Jews, America itself was their Zion yet his services to the Jewish homeland in Palestine were great. Like many Zionists, he was utter…
Posted by As'ad at 6:56 AM 09/25/09
French racism
“Moi, Mustapha Kessous, journaliste au “Monde” et victime du racisme” (thanks Ibn Rushd)
Posted by As'ad at 6:54 AM 09/25/09
Lebanese sense of grandness
I was watching a clip of Lebanese singer, Majda Ar-Rumi. I can’t stand her personality or her politics but I like her singing, and some of her songs. But what got my attention is the orchestra accompanying her: she must have had some 60 musicians an…
Posted by As'ad at 6:53 AM 09/25/09
Glorifying Israeli killers
“אבל כאמור לא רק התקשורת המרכזית בלבנון הגיבה קשה לסרטו של מעוז. באחד הבלוגים המרכזיים של העולם הערבי, “Angry Arab News Service”, מתואר סרטו של הבמאי הי…
Posted by As'ad at 6:52 AM 09/25/09
