Archive for May 8, 2012
New York Times’ standards
There is an article about Palestinian prisoners in the New York Times and suddenly Kershner adds this out of the blue: “Islamic Jihad is notorious for the suicide bombings it carried out last decade in Israeli cities, and more recently for firing rocke…
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
Israel’s angle
I told you this before. Some people get featured in the Times only because they have an Israeli angle or twist or a stop-over. Here is one: ”Q. How often do you fly?A. Every four days, from Miamito New York, or Miami to…
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
Lenin’s big head: read all about it in the New York Times
“As a baby, Lenin had a head so large that he often fell over. He used to bang his head on the floor, making his mother worry that he might be mentally disabled.”
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
US cash
I am willing to bet my farm (the family sold the farm in Tyre, actually), that there has never been an election in the Middle East since the 1950s in which the US did not intervene in with cash. Not one.
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
Neil MacFarquhar thinks this is funny
“One, from the Damascus suburb of Saqba, said it was an exercise in “Ramacracy” combining the word “democracy” with “rama,” the Arabic verb meaning “to throw things in the trash.”” I don’t get the joke and it sounds even worse in …
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
The lazy reporting of Neil MacFarquhar
This is one of the worst reporting on Syria that I have read–and I have read daily lousy reporting on Syria. Read this: there is absolutely nothing new or insightful. It is an anthology of impressions (of Youtube videos) and of views and m…
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
Praising UAE autocrats
““The UAE is a great commercial partner for Canada. It’s been a great political and military partner in Libya and politically on Syria,” [the Canadian foreign minister] said.” (thanks Reagan)
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
We should give the US credit for supporting the Bahraini royal family
Look at the propaganda trash from Foreign Policy: ”Some critics of the Obama administration accuse it of siding with Bahrain’s ruling family and being silent about its repression. The truth is more complex. Last year, State Department officials…
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
UAE: quietly
“As tensions between Tehran, Washington and Tel Aviv continue to mount over Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons technologies, the U.S. has quietly begun a deployment of its premier stealthy fighter, the twin-engine F-22, to the United Arab Emirates. &n…
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
Voting in Syria
Of course, I don’t take seriously voting under the Asad regime. It is meaningless as the ruling group will continue to hold what Hanna Batatu used to call “the crucial threads of power”. But to watch Western governments mock the vote is a l…
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
Did I not tell you?
I told you as soon as he was transferred to Iraqi custody, that the man is free and that his family is already planning the welcome party in Lebanon: ”An Iraqi court has ordered the release of the last detainee handed over to Iraqi custody by the…
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
The boring rants of Robert Fisk
Fisk has nothing to say on the Middle East whatsoever, and he often makes up for that by fabricating. OK, look at this: ”The problem with all this is that Muslim societies – or shall we whittle this down to Middle Eastern societies? – a…
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
Blasting Saudi media
Saudi Islamist, Muhsin Al-`Awwaji, blasts Al-Arabiyyah’s coverage of the Israeli assault on Gaza on…Al-Arabiyyah.
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
Jerusalem
Islamists should that Palestine is much bigger than Jerusalem.
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
Blanford’s sources
When I read Blanford citing those sources: ”according to imagery analysts and European intelligence officials who first noticed the unusual hillside markings in 2008″, I read: Israeli intelligence sources told me. Also, Mr. Blanford: are th…
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
Al-Ahram
Al-Ahram as an institution lost its appeal and influence since Sadat, the unrepentant Nazi anti-Semite, took over after Nasser. It quickly went from a tool of Mubarak to a tool of the Military junta. I now suspect that Al-Ahram has been coo…
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
In solidarity with Jerusalem
On Thursday, all schools in Morocco will devote an hour to express solidarity with occupied Jerusalem.
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
Aljazeera reports
Joseph sent me this: “Check out this report from AJE on the “underwear bomber plot”. The framing from the first second of the video is done from the point of view of the American government. Notice the slow motion explosion shown 3-4 times. How is…
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
This guy calls for dictatorships in the Arab world: like we don’t have them already?
“Obedience to authority is the hallmark of Islam’s political theory. In the harsh environment of the Arabian Desert, disobedience and strife could waste scarce water and staples. Islam is a way of life guided by the Quran and the Prophet’s actions and …
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad
Hamdin Sabahi
I feel that there is a buzz out there in Egypt, especially among the young revolutionaries. He is running a very-well organized campaign. He is of course an Arab nationalist Nasserist who was famous in his college years for confronting the …
Posted on May 8, 2012 by As'ad