Author Archive

The Fire of Nahr Al-Barid

My weekly article in Al-Akhbar:  ”Fire (of Barid) with Flames:  When the Lebanese authority searches for Heroism”**The original title I gave was” …when the Lebanese Army searches for heroism.”

Posted by As'ad at 1:54 PM 09/3/10

For the New York Times, anti-Islam bigotry is called anxiety.

Bigotry is bigotry but it seems that the New York Times now reserves a special word, anxiety, for anti-Islam bigotry.  Can you imagine if the paper labels anti-Semitism as “anxiety”?  And notice how this bigotry is justified: “Nearly nine yea…

Posted by As'ad at 7:12 AM 09/3/10

I trust Ibrahim like I trust Walid Jumblat

“Egyptian political activists are furious at fellow democracy and human rights campaigner Saad Eddin Ibrahim after the sociologist signed a petition urging President Hosni Mubarak’s son, Gamal, to run in the 2011 elections.”

Posted by As'ad at 6:42 AM 09/3/10

Hitchens explains his motives

“Did you write the book for money? Of course, I do everything for money. Dr. Johnson is correct when he says that only a fool writes for anything but money. It would be useful to keep a diary, but I don’t like writing unpaid. I don’t like writ…

Posted by As'ad at 6:24 AM 09/3/10

If this was said about Jews and Judaism, it would be an international affair

““As a mother and a grandmother, I worry,” Ms. Serafin said. “I learned that in 20 years with the rate of the birth population, we will be overtaken by Islam, and their goal is to get people in Congress and the Supreme Court to see that…

Posted by As'ad at 6:17 AM 09/3/10

Is making up interviews trendy these days? I mean, he was summoned by “the intelligence service” but refused to go?

“Sajjad: Yes, of course. I’ve received calls from the intelligence service. Two summons, in fact. But I refused to go. For the time being, I haven’t been arrested.”

Posted by As'ad at 6:13 AM 09/3/10

A 90-year-old Saudi man will be lashed 100 times

“A 90-year-old Saudi man will be lashed 100 times with the whip after he was convicted of smashing the windscreen of a judge’s car to retaliate against a previous verdict against him, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday.”

Posted by As'ad at 6:09 AM 09/3/10

pressures

“A senior Palestinian source told Haaretz that the American administration renewed its pressure on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to stay in direct negotiations with Israel, even if some construction in the settlements resumes after the end of …

Posted by As'ad at 6:06 AM 09/3/10

Happy New War

“before we weave an autumn for tyrantswe must cross this galaxy of barbed wiresand keep on repeatingHAPPY NEW WAR!” (thanks Olivia)

Posted by As'ad at 6:04 AM 09/3/10

They called his grandfather a traitor

“Even kids in Palestine know what he is up to: his grandson came to him crying and explained that children at his school had called his grandfather a “traitor”.” (thanks Hicham)

Posted by As'ad at 6:01 AM 09/3/10

false rumors and defamation of public figures

“Dubai’s police chief, Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim, said that fears of espionage and information sharing by foe Israel — as well as UAE allies United States and Britain — helped prompt the possible limits on the popular BlackBerry.  Tamim tol…

Posted by As'ad at 5:59 AM 09/3/10

the story that was gone

“ABC on Tuesday published on its website what seemed to be a major  exclusive story by Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross: Law  enforcement officials, according to Ross, had been “on a heightened  state of alert to a&…

Posted by As'ad at 5:56 AM 09/3/10

Suha Arafat

“C’est un fleuron de la francophonie au Maghreb qui disparaît dans le silence général. Le lycée privé Louis Pasteur de Tunis ne rouvrira pas ses portes à la rentrée prochaine. Ainsi en ont décidé les autorités locales, sans fournir la mo…

Posted by As'ad at 5:54 AM 09/3/10

Conclusion

“In his latest book, The Grand Design, an extract of which is published in Eureka magazine in The Times, Hawking said: “Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason t…

Posted by As'ad at 4:16 AM 09/3/10

This man has lost it–a very long time ago

“For the moment, there does not seem to be much prospect of a moderate Islam in the Muslim world. This is partly because in the prevailing atmosphere the expression of moderate ideas can be dangerous—even life-threatening. Radical groups like al Q…

Posted by As'ad at 11:16 AM 09/2/10

foreign maids in the Middle East

“Huge numbers of migrant domestic workers, mostly from Asia and Africa, are employed throughout the region. Some 1.5m work in Saudi Arabia, 660,000 in Kuwait and 200,000 in Lebanon. Many work very long hours and receive little food, no time off and …

Posted by As'ad at 11:14 AM 09/2/10

the language of Zionism

“An Ethiopian soldier serving at an Air Force base in southern Israel petitioned the High Court of Justice Thursday over racial slurs hurled at him by a senior officer.  The soldier asked the court to order IDF officials to explain why discipli…

Posted by As'ad at 11:08 AM 09/2/10

Not only condemn

Abbas was so uncomfortable today that his grammatical mistakes while reading were as bad as those of Arafat. He said that he “not only condemns” the killing of the armed settlers yesterday but that he will chase the Palestinian attackers and kill them…

Posted by As'ad at 10:05 AM 09/2/10

The new Iraq

“The biggest failure of all is political. Building a state with a democratic government and institutions that work was central to President George W. Bush’s vision of the new Iraq. The country has ended up with a travesty of good governance. Position…

Posted by As'ad at 10:04 AM 09/2/10

Don’t you love it?

Don’t you love it when White House Middle East experts (I mean, the two top Middle East hands, Feltman and Shapiro are horrible caricatures of classic DC Arabists who have been shunned from policy making since the Clinton administration) in Washington,…

Posted by As'ad at 10:03 AM 09/2/10

peace

Of course peace won’t emerge from the masquerade in Washington, DC but will eventually emerge–but only after the demise of Israel and the elimination of Zionism from historic Palestine.

Posted by As'ad at 10:00 AM 09/2/10

Syrian TV serials

The success of Syrian TV serials in this Ramadan TV season has been phenomenal. I only have a chance to follow Bab Al-Harah (the fifth part this season). The characters are most interesting and Syrian actors and actresses are full of charm and skill….

Posted by As'ad at 9:58 AM 09/2/10

But it wont be the first time that Mossad has hired idiots

“Simon Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor who gained worldwide fame for decades as a one-man Nazi-hunting operation, was in fact frequently on the payroll of the Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, a new biography asserts.”

Posted by As'ad at 9:55 AM 09/2/10

The puppet is not puppet enough

“but they also asked the Palestinian president to try to be flexible, according to advisers to all three sides.”

Posted by As'ad at 9:54 AM 09/2/10

Ethan Bronner’s tribute to Netanyahu

“Despite that background and other similar credentials — he was a special operations commando in the Israeli Army, fought in two wars and has a commanding public presence…”

Posted by As'ad at 9:52 AM 09/2/10

In Zionist language, “strong right-wing” means fascist

“His 100-year-old father, Benzion Netanyahu, a scholar of the Spanish Inquisition, is a strong right-wing advocate, as is the prime minister’s wife, Sara.”

Posted by As'ad at 9:52 AM 09/2/10

The Saudi-Israeli alliance

“But more recently, the Saudis pressed Mr. Abbas to agree to the direct talks, using their financial aid to the Palestinian Authority as a lever.”

Posted by As'ad at 9:32 AM 09/2/10

Names of the dead

“On the charts that the American military provides, those numbers are seen as success, from nearly 4,000 dead in one month in 2006 to the few hundred today. The Interior Ministry offers its own toll of war — 72,124 since 2003, a number too precise to…

Posted by As'ad at 9:28 AM 09/2/10

Lebanese hospital

A Lebanese hospital refuses to admit an Iraqi victim of beating because he had no money (he was robbed).

Posted by As'ad at 7:52 AM 09/1/10

Conversation avec Adonis

So in the book, Ninar Esber (his daughter) said that those who criticize her dad want to kill him.  She actually said that.

Posted by As'ad at 7:47 AM 09/1/10

Look at this

Why do kooky religious statements from Israel get no press attention, unlike kooky religious statement from Muslim countries?  ”Interior Minister Eli Yishai announced Tuesday that Israel had lost the Second Lebanon War because its people had dista…

Posted by As'ad at 7:45 AM 09/1/10

Lebanon and Israeli spies

This Israeli spy reached the position of deputy chief-of-staff of the Lebanese Army.  What an army.

Posted by As'ad at 7:40 AM 09/1/10

Repression in Gaza

A well-informed Palestinian journalist in Gaza reports to me that the people in Gaza are sick and tired with the repression and mismanagement by Hamas.

Posted by As'ad at 7:37 AM 09/1/10

servants of the occupation

“Palestinian security forces have swept through the West Bank, arresting more than 150 Hamas members, after the group’s military wing claimed responsibility for killing four Israeli settlers, according to senior Palestinian security officials.”

Posted by As'ad at 7:36 AM 09/1/10

Conversation avec Adonis

So Ninar (who can be as annoying as her dad and who said that feminists just want to be men), asked her dad, Adonis, in the book, to discuss his relationship with his siblings.  He answered:  well, i give them money when i think they need it,…

Posted by As'ad at 7:34 AM 09/1/10

chuckle of the day

I was reading Thomas Friedman quoting Michael Young.  I chuckled when I read that.  This is like Richard Pearle quoting Fouad Ajami.

Posted by As'ad at 7:34 AM 09/1/10

Zionism is racism

“Dozens of parents of Ethiopian origin have been blocked by the Petah Tikva municipality from moving their children from the majority-Ethiopian religious Ner Etzion elementary school to other schools in the city.” (thanks Lidia)

Posted by As'ad at 7:31 AM 09/1/10

She threw her maid out of the the 12th story balcony

A Lebanese woman was indicted for throwing here Ethiopian maid out of the 12th story balcony.  (thanks Farah)

Posted by As'ad at 6:32 AM 09/1/10

Conversation avec Adonis

This is torture.  I am reading Conversation avec Adonis (the Arabic edition).  It is torture: i mean, not only from Adonis, but from his daughter too.  She is so outraged by how Muslims kill animals and how Africans treat animals.  …

Posted by As'ad at 6:28 AM 09/1/10

Foreign maid dead in Lebanon

A Kenyan maid was trying to flee her employer’s residence, and she “fell” and died.  Lebanese police–OF COURSE–does not investigate.

Posted by As'ad at 6:25 AM 09/1/10

This does read like a fake interview

““By preventing this mosque from being built, America is doing us a big favor,” Taliban operative Zabihullah tells NEWSWEEK. (Like many Afghans, he uses a single name.) “It’s providing us with more recruits, donations, and popular support.

Posted by As'ad at 11:27 AM 08/31/10

Lebanon versus the US

““Ground Zero” for Lebanon is an ever expanding, never ending, open wound that never heals.   ”So what now Newt?    Should you expect the Lebanese to allow a synagogue to be built on their Ground Zero, in the aftermath of a 9/…

Posted by As'ad at 9:45 AM 08/31/10

Can you imagine if Hizbullah flew planes over Israel? The Security Council would have convened

“The Lebanese Army command detailing violations of Lebanese airspace by Israeli drones on Monday. A statement said at 7:30 am on Monday an Israeli reconnaissance plane violated Lebanese airspace over the southern village of Rmeish, and then flew ov…

Posted by As'ad at 9:43 AM 08/31/10

security structures for fuels

““In the years ahead energy security, economic security and national security will be inextricably linked. If we want to ensure that we can keep the lights on in Britain then we need to develop a comprehensive energy strategy. It is simply a matte…

Posted by As'ad at 9:38 AM 08/31/10

Where is PETA?

“Scientists are allegedly carrying out cruel and unnecessary experiments on cats at the Tel Aviv University medical school. This came to light after photographs of two frightened, abandoned kittens in Tel Aviv University’s animal laboratory reached …

Posted by As'ad at 9:35 AM 08/31/10

Chief PA Buffoon seeks approval of Israelis

You have to watch him.  He out did himself.  (thanks Ziyaad)

Posted by As'ad at 9:34 AM 08/31/10

When the puppets are embarrassed

“The Palestinian security chief, Diab el-Ali, rejected that in a recent interview, saying that the Israeli raids were an embarrassment and that he wanted them to stop. He said the Palestinians were capable of providing full security.”  The sentenc…

Posted by As'ad at 9:30 AM 08/31/10

Yes

“As for violence, Hamas has inflicted a fraction of the harm on Israeli civilians that Israel inflicts on Palestinian civilians. If violence disqualifies Hamas, surely much greater violence should disqualify the Israelis?”

Posted by As'ad at 9:28 AM 08/31/10

Yasser `Abd Rabbu seeks approval of Israelis

This is as pathetic as it can get, really. (thanks Hussam)

Posted by As'ad at 9:26 AM 08/31/10

Martin Indyk’s racism: only Jewish lives count. Notice he provides no count for Palestinian casualties in the same period

“These efforts, combined with more effective Israeli security measures, have meant that the number of Israeli civilians killed in terrorist attacks has dropped from an intifada high of 452 in 2002 to 6 last year and only 2 so far this year.”

Posted by As'ad at 9:23 AM 08/31/10

Five Ethiopians die in Saudi deportation centre: from overcrowding

“”The five died in the deportation centre in the southern Red Sea port of Jizan of “asphyxiation due to overcrowding,” according to a local police official, the newspaper said.”" (thanks anonymous)

Posted by As'ad at 9:20 AM 08/31/10

Wahhabi institutes

“”…In my opinion Yemen has lost a whole generation because of the type of education that was provided through what were called “scientific institutes.” These institutes were religious institutes preaching a salafi and wahabi interpretation, wh…

Posted by As'ad at 9:18 AM 08/31/10

Israel is stealing the land and its resources and they are chasing sheep thieves

“Palestinian Authority police detained four suspected of stealing 14 sheep from a farm in the northern West Bank district of Qalqiliya, a report read.” (thanks Olivia)

Posted by As'ad at 9:17 AM 08/31/10

Why Israel’s years are numbered

“Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, who looked into the appointment process, concluded that officers who currently hold senior military posts did not undergo sufficient training, and that top appointments are affected by personal ties with the army ch…

Posted by As'ad at 9:16 AM 08/31/10

“Franz Schurmann, Cold War Expert on China, Dies at 84″

“Franz Schurmann, an expert on China during the cold war and a globe-trotting professor who helped found the Pacific News Service, a provider of news and commentary about Asia, died on Aug. 20 at his home in San Francisco. He was 84. The cause was comp…

Posted by As'ad at 9:10 AM 08/31/10

This is Zionism

“An Israeli army officer who fired the entire magazine of his automatic rifle into a 13-year-old Palestinian girl and then said he would have done the same even if she had been three years old was acquitted on all charges by a military court yesterd…

Posted by As'ad at 7:44 AM 08/30/10

Lebanon is number one. Watch. An-Nahar will now brag

“Here are ten places Uncle Sam urges Americans to avoid, ranked in order of the degree to which each country’s GDP depends upon tourism revenue.” (thanks Daniel)

Posted by As'ad at 7:20 AM 08/30/10

Read this article, now

By the way, read Laleh Khalili’s article “The Location of Palestine in Global Counterinsurgencies” in IJMES.  I read it as manuscript and loved it.

Posted by As'ad at 7:11 AM 08/30/10

Censorship in Ramallah mini-republic-under-occupation

A reader who does not want to be identified sent me this–he/she fears retribution.   “You might be interested to know that the Arabic translation of the recent book\interview with George Habash (Al-Thawriyyun la Yamutun Abadan, publis…

Posted by As'ad at 7:06 AM 08/30/10

The Returnee

If you want to read about transmigration of the souls (as a concept of course–not that i believe in souls) in literature, read Khalil Taqiyy Ad-Din’s Al-`a’id (The Returnee).  

Posted by As'ad at 7:03 AM 08/30/10