Archive for February 4, 2011
Egyptian military
“Despite the cuts, U.S. officials said that the Egyptian military continued to function well. “Their equipment was old, but pretty well maintained,” Whitcomb said.” Function well? Of course. They functioned very well in preserving the dictatorshi…
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
Al-Hurra in the New York Times
The official US propaganda channel, Al-Hurrah is referred to as an Arab network in the New York Times: “Another Arab network, Al Hurra, had what it described as one of the only live feeds from the square.” In fact, Al-Hurrah should never be menti…
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
`Umar Sulayman: the man of change
Selecting the torturer, `Umar Sulayman, as the man to lead the democratic process of change in Egypt is like asking Husni Mubarak to lead Amnesty International.
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
Khalli As-Silah Sahi
I suggest that this song becomes the anthem of the Egyptian uprising. I love it. It is from Nasser’s era of struggle against Israeli aggression. It is by `Abdul-Halim Hafidh. (thanks Farah)
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
Zionists will freak out when they see this
(Washington Post)
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
Another Zionist is freaking out
“”In Israel we’ve have had the impression that as time goes on we are facing less existential dangers. Now, we are speaking about real danger and every responsible Israeli leader, be it from the center right or center left, would have to be much more c…
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
Another Zionist freaking out
Aaron David Miller: ”"By definition, those views, if accurately reflected in governance and politics, would lead to a much narrower space for the United States on any number of issues…not to mention, of course, how much less space and patience …
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
Iyad Allawi
I don’t understand why Anthony Shadid is so impressed with Iyad Allawi (former Iraqi puppet prime minister/car bomber/Saddam’s henchman/embezzler-in-Yemen). This profile is quite hagiographic. He mentions that he left Iraq in 1971, but does…
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
Why the US loves Mubarak
“Egypt also has quietly supported Israel’s blockade of Gaza,”. Quietly? How ignorant is that statement? The issue is widely talked about in the less restricted Arab media outlets.
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
American officials don’t disguise their preference for a military dicatorship
“U.S. officials in Washington noted with approval the positive response by the demonstrators to an appearance in the square by Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, the Egyptian defense minister. Ostensibly there to talk with the troops, Tantawi stopped to ch…
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
Look how some foreign correspondents don’t do their homework
“The Obama administration hopes that respected figures whom one administration official referred to as Egypt’s “wise men”". No, dude. It is not the official who named them the “wise men”. That is how they refer to themselves–rather immodes…
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
The head of Mubarak’s secret police as the Obama’s choice for democratic Egypt
“But, the officials said, Suleiman was increasingly aware that his own credibility was diminishing the longer he remained tethered to Mubarak, as was the likelihood that he could serve as an acceptable alternative.” This betrays how protective th…
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
Egyptian prisoners who broke out of jail
Some of those who were arrested spoke to Egyptian Mubarak state tv. It is hilarious TV. One prisoner said that he really did not want to leave the prison but saw that everyone was leaving, so he just went along with them. Another one said: he rea…
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
Tunisians support the Egyptian revolution
Apparently, Tunisian activists are behind the hacking of Egyptian government websites.
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
The Muslim Brotherhood
Now, I don’t believe that it is up to the White Man to tell Arabs and Muslims who should lead them. And it is not up to past and present colonial powers to issue certificates of legitimacy to leaders of Arabs and Muslims. Frankly my dear, a…
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
Don’t trust a billionaire during a revolution
So a self-appointed committee, called the “Wise Men Committee” has been issuing opinions and commands and is trying to mediate between the people of Egypt and the regime of Mubarak. Their first idea was to donate Egypt to the head of Mubarak’s se…
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
The new Egyptian press
it is significant that the protest in Egypt expressed largely but not exclusively through Ash-Shuruq newspaper–which is a relatively new Arab nationalist newspaper. Expect all the stale publications of the Mubarak regime and his crony billionair…
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
The clerics of the dictator
The Mufti of Al-Azhar–the religious institution that has only produced misogyny, repression, intolerance, fanaticism, and obscurantism–called Mubarak and expressed support for dictatorship. What do you expect from a bunch of unlearned clerics w…
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
Dictatorship for Beginners
By the Egyptian cartoonist, Bahjat.
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad
Obama and Mubarak
Notice that another day and Obama refuses to call on Mubarak to step down. What an insult to the Egyptian people all the praise that Obama heaped on Mubarak today, and he, yet again, refused to call on Mubarak to step down. It is obvious wh…
Posted on February 4, 2011 by As'ad