I came across this from Mao's "A Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan": A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it can't be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained, and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another."
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Saudi-Qatari anti-Shi'ite campaign
I was thinking. This sectarian campaign has a precedent in history: the rhetoric of Seljuks against the Fatimids.
When the West really hearts car and truck bombs
Look how gleefully the Times reports news of car and bomb trucks by Syrian rebels: "Seeking to regain lost momentum, Syrian rebels mounted what appeared to be one of the deadliest strikes against government forces to date on Monday, sending a suicide bomber to detonate what they said was six tons of explosives in a truck. The bombing near the city of Aleppo in northern Syria was said to have killed as many as 60 soldiers."
British Jihadis in Syria
"Britons fighting with Syria's jihadi 'band of brothers'" (thanks Laure)
http://www.channel4.com/news/syria-war-rebels-jihadi-ibrahim-al-mazwagi
Iranian elections in oil newspapers
From Ali: "I was following the gulf newspapers prior to the Iranian elections. Every time
there was an article on the election, it was preceded with a picture of Rouhani,
with heavy emphasis in the article on him, and with dread concerning the
possible fixing of the elections. So you can only imagine the level of "rigged
elections" type of articles that were being prepared when he was going to lose,
in order to prop up the propaganda all over again. But alas, he won."
what US and Israel want in Syria
"Israel and the US’s best strategy should be to help maintain the status quo
where neither Assad nor the rebels are strong enough to defeat the other
militarily."
legal discrimination in Israel: how do you define veteran in Israel? by religion of course
"The measure would allow veterans to be preferred
in hiring practices; to receive higher salaries; and to get preference in
receiving dorm rooms at universities. None of that would be considered
discrimination, which is illegal under Israeli law. Arab organizations argue the
law is dangerous." (thanks John)
cowardice of the US press
Comrade Fahd sent me this: "No need to feel bad. At my new workplace, for the time being, obedience,
conformity, and loyalty is an integral part of a low-paying job. This is what
all the employees around me say. On the one hand. But the Snowden’s in every
field will keep popping up for lack of a revolutionary discourse, of course. I started working at a car parts retailer, Autozone. And I
love it, for my own reasons."
Munib Al-Masri prostrates lower and lower
If only this lousy man would just go away, for good: ""He
[Shimon Peres] is a man of peace," said Palestinian business tycoon Munib Masri,
who was in the crowd. "People see him that way and like him for
that." He just wants to see his name in the paper at any price. (thanks Basim)
Syrians refugees are attacked in Europe
" "People arrive in Europe and they get treated worse than your
worst nightmare. You get stuck in a cell, and you go in healthy and emerge
sick," said Petros Mastakas, an official at the Athens office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees." "All Syrian refugees in Greece know someone who has
been attacked. The police, they say, do nothing. "In the streets, we are
afraid," Hali said. "They don't care about refugees here." "Many Syrians say
they never expected Europe to show them a cold shoulder. "We thought there was
freedom, these beautiful countries," said Hatim Khalaf, 45, a farmer from the
Kurdish region of northeast Syria who lives in an Athens suburb with his three
sons. "We see nothing of this beauty."
US flexes its Jordan muscles
"Regional analysts and officials have said that while those
exercises are touted as a "multilateral relationship-building" measure, on the
ground they are widely seen as the U.S. "flexing its muscles" and laying the
groundwork for future maneuvers." "He stressed that the decision to send the
Patriots to Jordan as part of the exercises was made more than a year ago, and
that the decision over whether or not they would remain in Jordan would be
handled by Washington."
Hollywood and surveillance
Hollywood has been softening us all up for years now, acclimatising us all to
the notion that our every movement and conversation, our locations, routines and
spending habits, are visible to, or purchasable by, others whose motives we
cannot know. But relax … it's all sublimely OK."
monks using luxurious personal items while flying on a private jet.
"Thailand's Buddhism body said it is monitoring monks nationwide
for any inappropriate behavior after a video showed monks using luxurious
personal items while flying on a private jet." (thanks Amir)
Zionism and democracy
From Steven: "Look at this quote I found while doing research for the book I'm working on.
Meir Kahane makes MUCH more sense than all Zionist liberals put together:
let me explain why everybody is mad at me. It’s because I have confronted people with the following contradiction: you can’t have Zionism and democracy at the same time. And for those who criticize me, it’s very difficult to get out of this contradiction.
Now let me answer your question. First of all, Western democracy has to be ruled out. For me that’s cut and dried: there’s no question of setting up democracy in Israel, because democracy means equal rights for all, irrespective of racial or religious origins. Therefore democracy and Zionism cannot go together. And Israel’s Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed this state to be a Jewish state, is a totally schizophrenic document. You just can’t, on the one hand, want a Jewish state and at the same time give non-Jews the right to become a majority. When Abba Eban makes beautiful speeches in twelve languages and starts talking about Jewish democracy-what on earth does that mean, Jewish democracy?"
let me explain why everybody is mad at me. It’s because I have confronted people with the following contradiction: you can’t have Zionism and democracy at the same time. And for those who criticize me, it’s very difficult to get out of this contradiction.
Now let me answer your question. First of all, Western democracy has to be ruled out. For me that’s cut and dried: there’s no question of setting up democracy in Israel, because democracy means equal rights for all, irrespective of racial or religious origins. Therefore democracy and Zionism cannot go together. And Israel’s Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed this state to be a Jewish state, is a totally schizophrenic document. You just can’t, on the one hand, want a Jewish state and at the same time give non-Jews the right to become a majority. When Abba Eban makes beautiful speeches in twelve languages and starts talking about Jewish democracy-what on earth does that mean, Jewish democracy?"
Morsi's speech
""Did you know that when Morsi went to beg Russia for money and wheat, he openly declared that his position is in complete alignment with the Russian position, which is pro-Assad, just because they promised him they might think of lending him money or wheat? Did you know that this conference took place, not two days after the Obama administration’s announcement that they will fund and arm Syrian rebels? Did you know that this conference got held exactly two weeks before the 30 June demonstrations, at a time when the Muslim Brotherhood is desperate for any Islamist support to cling to power? Did you know that in Morsi’s 6th of October speech last year, he managed to fill the 80,000 seats of the Cairo stadium with his supporters, but in this speech he opted for the covered dome, which only holds 16,000 seats? Also, did you know that opposing the ruler in Egypt is against religion and God, but opposing the ruler in Syria is holy Jihad?" (thanks Egyptian anonymous)
An Israeli in a war crimes tribunal?
"In his letter, Judge Harhoff, 64, who has been
on the tribunal since 2007, said that in two cases Judge Meron, a
United States citizen who was formerly an Israeli diplomat, applied
“tenacious pressure” on his fellow judges in such a way that it “makes
you think he was determined to achieve an acquittal.”
“Have any American or Israeli officials ever exerted pressure on the
American presiding judge (the presiding judge for the court that is) to
ensure a change of direction?” Judge Harhoff asked. “We will probably
never know.”
A spokesman at the court declined to comment on the letter. Other judges
and lawyers were willing to speak, provided that their names were not
used." (thanks anonymous)
Anis Furayhah and Lebanese nationalism
I don't have time to translate this post on the role of Anis Furayhah in the formation of Lebanese nationalism.
PS Adam kindly translated: ""Anis Farayhah one of the creators of the Phoenician doctrine and its "scientific promoters. His book “A Lexicon of names of Lebanese cities and villages” is biased and not-impartial. For example, for the name “Hirmil”, he rules out an Arabic origin for the word (is contained in Lisan Al-`Arab). He sneaks in the possibility, a mere possibility, that the origin is Grecian (page 114). However, in his book “A Lexicon of Spoken Dialects”, he is obliged to finally admit that “’amiyyeh” (spoken Arabic) is fundamentally Arabic. Note: His book “Hear, O Rida!” is enjoyable for children."
PS Adam kindly translated: ""Anis Farayhah one of the creators of the Phoenician doctrine and its "scientific promoters. His book “A Lexicon of names of Lebanese cities and villages” is biased and not-impartial. For example, for the name “Hirmil”, he rules out an Arabic origin for the word (is contained in Lisan Al-`Arab). He sneaks in the possibility, a mere possibility, that the origin is Grecian (page 114). However, in his book “A Lexicon of Spoken Dialects”, he is obliged to finally admit that “’amiyyeh” (spoken Arabic) is fundamentally Arabic. Note: His book “Hear, O Rida!” is enjoyable for children."
Jihad, or as you pronounce it in the US Jeeeeeeeeeeehooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaadiiipppol
"of the thirty-five occurrences of the word Jihad and related terms in the holy book, only ten refer to war". (In Europe and the Islamic World: A History, p. 28).
Your summer reading on the Middle East
If there is one book you want to read in Islamic/Middle Eastern studies this summer, it has to be Europe and the Islamic World: A History by John Tolan, Gilles Vienstein and Henry Laurens, published by Princeton University Press. It is by far the best book to appear in Middle East/Islamic studies in more than a decade or two.
Egyptian archives
Khalid Fahmy says that the control by Ikhwan on the National archives "poses a threat to our Islamic heritage". So the control by Mubarak and Sadat posed no threat to "your" Islamic heritage?
The West on Syria
There is something that is striking about the West's stance on Syria: their declared policies and fake concern is predicated on an early established narrative of developments that no more exists. In other words, they still talk as if what is going on in Syria is not a civil war but a war between a brutal regime and unarmed demonstrators. They still act like there are demonstrations in Syria being smashed by the regime.
Barbara Streisand in Israel
""It's distressing to read about women in Israel being forced to sit in
the back of the bus," she said, "or when we hear about 'Women of the
Wall' having metal chairs thrown at them when they attempt to peacefully
and legally pray."" And nonce of the Israeli massacres against Arabs ever distressed you? A typical American liberal.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Hasan Nasrallah's brother
An Israeli channel (and Syrian "revolutionary" media) have been cheering that Hasan Nasrallah's brother died in Qusayr. It seems that dumb Israeli Orientalists did not know that there is more than one Nasrallah family in Lebanon. The man in question was buried in Qana and has no relation to Hasan Nasrallah.
The cowardice of US press
The reaction of the US press to Edward Snowden is only yet another indication of the political cowardice of the press. Imagine if a Russian or a Chinese man/woman were to do the same as Snowden? He/she would have been uniformly hailed and lauded and he/she would have received tons of Western awards and honors. Utter hypocrisy. They want courage and defiance but only outside of their borders, where obedience, conformity, and loyalty are the orders of the day and night.
Egyptian army responds to Morsi
The response by sources in the Egyptian high command to Morsi's statement about support for the Syrian "revolution" is an indication that Morsi has failed to speak on behalf of those who are not Salafis and Ikhwanis on Syria--perhaps with the possible exception of Trotskyists.
The military background of Rohani
In the articles I have read about Rohani in the Western press, I noticed that none of them talked about the military background of Rohani. Egyptian Iran expert, Mustafa Labbad, talks at length about the military background of Rohani.
Arab atheists
Arabs today have been circulating this saying by brilliant Lebanese satirist, musician, Ziyad Rahbani. It says: "The Sunnis have America, and the Shi`ites have Russia, and the atheists have only God."
More on the lousiest "revolution" there is: the Syrian "revolution"
In the site of Yassin Hajj Saleh, there is an article by a guy (a "revolutionary" no doubt--hell, according to their definition of revolution, the Saudi King and Emir of Qatar are leading revolutionaries) about sovereignty. This is quite novel and quite something: to justify the reliance by this fake revolution on Qatar, Saudi Arabia, US, Israel, UAE, Jordan, Turkey, Germany, France, UK among other outside powers, and to rationalize their reliance on outside military intervention, he came up with a new concept: that there is no such thing as national sovereignty, that it does not exist. It is--according to him--a Ba`thist and medieval concept. (thanks Ahmad)
Even your Syrian Observatory had to concede
"The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the video shows the destruction of
a shrine in Hatla. In the video, fighters are seen walking into the building and
stomping on religious books, some with covers showing pictures of Shiite
clerics, before blowing up the shrine. Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the
Observatory, said that the shrine was demolished Friday, three days after the
battle. "It's clear that they want to root out Hatla's Shiite
inhabitants," he told The Associated Press." (thanks Basim)
Always looking for an Israeli
From Massoud: "It is unclear why the normally reputable New England Journal of Medicine
chose an Israeli (and a political scientist!), Michael Gross, to write an essay
about the reasonableness of force-feeding detainees in Gmo Bay. Was there no one
else they could find to support such an outrageous violation of medical
ethics?"
http://www.nejm.org/
Sex predators who want to liberate Muslim women
"Pressure on Washington to rein in sex crimes by the military has
been building. President Barack Obama recently called the issue a national
security problem after a Pentagon report estimated there were 26,000 sexual
assaults inside the US armed forces last year. Experts say that dwarfs
military-on-civilian crimes around the roughly 1,000 US bases dotted across the
world, some close to the planet’s most notorious fleshpots."
Rohani
I went to sleep yesterday learning from the media that Rohani belongs to the Saudi-Israeli-US alliance. But I woke up this morning learning that he after all belongs to the Iranian-Syrian-Russian alliance.
Tunisian Feminist Leader: 'Femen, Please Leave Us Alone'
" "Femen, please leave us alone," appealed Tunisian feminist and
opposition leader Maya Jribi in an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE. "You risk
ruining everything that we have fought for." "
one occupied village
"In soap operas such as One Village, One Thousand Voices,
produced by the San Francisco-based NGO Equal Access, characters consistently
find themselves facing injustice due to Koranic confusion on the part of older
Afghans." "The approach to the Koran and Hadiths found in One Village, A
Thousand Voices is strongly reminiscent of liberal American politicians who
selectively invoke the bible in order to stress that Western society has long
been committed to fundamental principles of right and wrong." (thanks Amir)
Jerusalem in Google searches
Historian comrade Tarif Khalidi sent me this (I cite with his permission): "When googling my name recently, I found that my place of birth is given as
:Jerusalem, Israel. After sending five messages to Google to point out that
there was no "Israel" when I was born (1938), and receiving no answer, I began
to discover other interesting things.
-You get the same result by googling Edward Said, Khalil Sakakini, and other Palestinian Jerusalemites, all born before Israel
was even established; their birthplace is given by Google (in the right-hand corner) as: Jerusalem, Israel.
- Even more bizarre, the birthplace of the medieval Islamic geographer, al-Muqaddasi,, born in 940 AD, is given as (you guessed it): Jerusalem, Israel.
- You get the same result if you google two of Islam's holiest monuments, al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, not to mention the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
- Google also identifies Jerusalem as "Capital of Israel" in the right-hand sidebar when you search for the city, without any qualification.
- Supporters of the Palestinian cause celebrated in early May when Google replaced the words "Palestinian territories" on the homepage
google.ps with the word "Palestine," thus seeming to recognize Palestinian statehood. That small symbolic gesture has now been more
than offset by its considering Jerusalem, its residents, sites, and monuments, all to be under Israeli sovereignty, and by recognizing the
city to be capital of Israel, something even the United States has not done.
- The information portal of our time consecrates Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory and declares Jerusalem to be Israel's alone,
without so much as indicating that there is a dispute over its sovereignty. The occupation of Jerusalem and the disenfranchisement of
its people seems to have been consecrated into common knowledge.
Do with this as you will."
-You get the same result by googling Edward Said, Khalil Sakakini, and other Palestinian Jerusalemites, all born before Israel
was even established; their birthplace is given by Google (in the right-hand corner) as: Jerusalem, Israel.
- Even more bizarre, the birthplace of the medieval Islamic geographer, al-Muqaddasi,, born in 940 AD, is given as (you guessed it): Jerusalem, Israel.
- You get the same result if you google two of Islam's holiest monuments, al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, not to mention the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
- Google also identifies Jerusalem as "Capital of Israel" in the right-hand sidebar when you search for the city, without any qualification.
- Supporters of the Palestinian cause celebrated in early May when Google replaced the words "Palestinian territories" on the homepage
google.ps with the word "Palestine," thus seeming to recognize Palestinian statehood. That small symbolic gesture has now been more
than offset by its considering Jerusalem, its residents, sites, and monuments, all to be under Israeli sovereignty, and by recognizing the
city to be capital of Israel, something even the United States has not done.
- The information portal of our time consecrates Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory and declares Jerusalem to be Israel's alone,
without so much as indicating that there is a dispute over its sovereignty. The occupation of Jerusalem and the disenfranchisement of
its people seems to have been consecrated into common knowledge.
Do with this as you will."
Iranian revolution and the Arab left
I said it yesterday in Arabic on Twitter and I will say it again here: there is no denying that the Islamic revolution in Iran--or more accurately Khumayni Islamist movement that hijacked the Iranian revolution--dealt a severe blow to the Arab left. We still have not recovered from the earthquake that was caused by that revolution.
King of Jordan
I was alerted that the Jordanian royal court instructed royal photographers to only take pictures and shoot video of the King while not showing the teleprompter in front of him so that he can appear to be improvising his talk. In fact, it seemed more awkward and some of his Arabic letters sounded foreign. Has his Arabic deteriorated from sitting for long hours at the feet of American dignitaries?
Who do you hate more, Sunnis or Shi`ites?
This is another low for Aljazeera network: the disgraceful sectarian media arm of the Qatari dynasty.
Iranian presidential candidates and university degrees
Many Arabs have noticed: Iranians (in the public and in government) seem to have a high appreciation for university degrees. All presidential candidates have advanced university degrees, and some Iranian politicians have even been caught beefing up their resume with fake degrees. There is such a high premium on education as a necessary qualification. In the Arab world, we still have kings and princes who can't even read.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Rare reasonable piece on Syria in the Times
" The Syrian revolution isn’t democratic or secular; the more than 90,000 fatalities are the result of a civil war, not a genocide — and human rights violations have been committed on both sides."
On his own
" American officials said that Mr. Morsi’s comments on Saturday were not prompted by the United States."
transliteration from Arabic
Some people don't like my transliteration of Arabic: it may be a bit outmoded or less simplified. I still stick to the old system of the Library of Congress. Not my fault: habit. You see as I started my graduate studies in Beirut, I read and re-read the bibliography section of Hanna Batatu's The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq. The system is now ingrained in me.
Priorities of the puppet of Israeli occupation
"The president on Sunday urged Palestinian communities across the world to vote
for Assaf, who is the first Palestinian to reach the finals of the pan-Arab
show.
Abbas instructed the PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact international Palestinian embassies to mobilize support for the Arab Idol star." (thanks Mohamed)
Abbas instructed the PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact international Palestinian embassies to mobilize support for the Arab Idol star." (thanks Mohamed)
Saudi party girls arrest note
From Jamal: "Did you notice in your link to the supposed Satan worshiping party
in Saudi, that one of the pieces of "evidence" was that they found energy
drinks. Energy drinks. Shocking isn't it? It didn't say if they found potatoes."
For Israel, this is the question: how to expel Africans
From Daniel: "Israel confirms it has reached deal with one African country willing to absorb
African migrants living in Israel, and is pursing similar agreements with four
other states.
The government has refused to reveal which countries are involved."
The government has refused to reveal which countries are involved."
Muhammad
It is a sign of the lousy state of Islamic studies in the Arab world and of the Wahhabi dominance that the best biography of Muhammad in any language--that by Maxim Rodinson--is still not available in Arabic.
your revolution, not mine
"Sunni extremists blew up a Shiite mosque in a village in eastern Syria stormed by rebels earlier this week, another sign of the sectarian hatred growing in the country’s civil war, activists said Sunday."
Evidence? Who cares?
" Britain and France have also said there is convincing evidence that Syria has used chemical weapons, but neither they nor the United States have made their evidence public."
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/world/europe/russia-faults-proof-of-use-of-chemicals-in-syrian-war.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&ref=todayspaper
Al-Qa`idah flag in Lebanon
New TV aired a special report on the matter. Al-Qa`idah flag is now flying in many areas of Lebanon where March 14 is dominant. No single reference to that in the Western media.
Hamas-Hizbullah
Western media, since the Syrian uprising, has become so lazy: they feel that they now are on the same page with the Saudi and Qatari media so they simply copy from those media, even lies, fabrications and rumors. Many have reported that there is a big rift between Hamas and Hizbullah and that Hamas was kicked out of the southern suburbs of Beirut. This turned out to be untrue and the leaders of both parties have been holding secret meetings in the suburbs to reconcile differences. They formed a special committee for coordination.
US to the rescure: democracy festival for Syria
"Aid to the rebels will most likely go through Turkey, where
the United States is involved in a secret base that Turkey set up with Saudi
Arabia and Qatar to direct military and communications aid to Syria's armed
opposition, Reuters reports. "US aid could also go through Jordan where several
thousand US troops are on a joint exercise," according to Reuters. "A further
200 soldiers from the US Army's First Division are also there." " This is a democracy festival really.
Hasan Nasrallah spotted in Qusayr
Ali Hashem (a veteran correspondent for Aljazeera who now works for Al-Mayadin TV) wrote on Facebook that while in Qusayr (after it was taken over by Syrian regime forces and Hizbullah forces) he ran into Hasan Nasrallah who was not wearing a turban. I asked him and he confirmed to me that he was sure it was him and that he nodded to him smiling.
stirring the pot in Syria
" "In a sense, Obama owns Syria now," says Joshua Landis, a highly
regarded Syria expert at the University of Oklahoma. "I presume he'll try to go
in toe by toe.... But he has to decide what his objectives are, which he hasn't.
Does he want to provide just enough arms to keep the status quo and divide Syria
in two? Does he want to give them enough to take Damascus and drive the Alawites
[President Bashar al-Assad's ruling sect] into the mountains? Does he want he
want to see them take over the entire country?" The evidence so far is that the
administration will go no further than to try to maintain the bloody standoff,
which has cost more than 90,000 lives, for the time being. "I assume they're
just stirring the pot at this point," Landis says."
thank you, NATO for brining peace, stability, democracy and the American way to Libya
"The latest attack fueled concerns of a further deteriorating
security situation in this already volatile city, Libya's second largest. The
interim head of the Libyan army, Salem al-Konidi warned of a potential
"bloodbath" that could emerge here."
Palin on Allah
"Palin criticized Obama's leadership, including his foreign
policy efforts, and argued that the United States should not intervene in Syria,
but instead "let Allah sort it out." "Where is our commander in chief?" she
said. "We're talking now more new interventions. I say until we know what we're
doing, until we have a commander and chief who knows what he's doing, well, let
these radical Islamic countries who aren't even respecting basic human rights,
where both sides are slaughtering each other as they scream over an arbitrary
red line, 'Allah Akbar,' I say until we have someone who knows what they're
doing, I say let Allah sort it out." The line drew laughter from the audience."
(thanks Michele)
dirty Shi`ites
From a reader: ""Preceding Morsi's words, Sunni Islamic preachers such as
Sheikh Mohamed Hassan and Sheikh Mohmaed Abdel-Maqsoud, underlined the
"necessity of declaring Jihad in Syria, in which Syrians and any capable Muslims
shall take part in." They called on Morsi not to allow Shiites into Egypt,
describing them as "unclean." "
"The report notes that US officials and several experts who
were consulted during the research of the report said aid to Egypt helps promote
US strategic goals in the region."
lead nations in Afghanistan
From Amir: "Germany and Italy will join the United States as "lead
nations" in regions of Afghanistan after NATO transitions into a noncombat
mission there after 2014, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said
Wednesday."
South German Newspaper: Alcohol problem of German Armed Forces
Former French Foreign Minister, Roland Dumas, on Syria
From Alan: "FYI:
In an interview with the French TV station LCP, former French minister for Foreign Affairs Roland Dumas said:
‘’ I’m going to tell you something. I was in England two years before the violence in Syria on other business. I met with top British officials, who confessed to me that they were preparing something in Syria.""
In an interview with the French TV station LCP, former French minister for Foreign Affairs Roland Dumas said:
‘’ I’m going to tell you something. I was in England two years before the violence in Syria on other business. I met with top British officials, who confessed to me that they were preparing something in Syria.""
ugly sectarianism of (some in) the Syrian intellectual class: Yassin Haj Saleh
There is a twin movement in Syria: the March 14 of Lebanon found its sister March 14 movement in Syria: how could it not be when the sponsor and the funder is the same in Saudi intelligence? Ali Farzat's Facebook page is a daily barrage of vulgar, sexist, crude and sectarian fulminations. Yassin Hajj Saleh (and I attacked him early on in the Syrian uprising especially as I noted his fawning earlier praise for Rafiq Hariri--to the consternation of some of my friends and comrades) has joined the sectarian band wagon: his website now features regular sectarian hate and now has has made his own contribution with this ugly sectarian diatribe. (thanks Raed)
Saturday, June 15, 2013
US and Iranian elections
So the White House announced that it "respects" the results of the Iranian presidential election. This is how the West operates: they respect the results of the election if they like the outcome.
Ali Farzat: the vulgar, crdue sectarian
As Western outfits consider showering medals and awards on Syrian cartoonist, Ali Farzat, they should pay a visit to his Facebook page and sample some of his vulgar, crude, sexist and sectarian commentaries.
Can someone please tell him if his battalion is moderate, damn it? He needs cash
"“The American said they will arm moderate battalions,” he said. “I don’t know if my battalion is moderate.”"
Revolution?
Someone has to explain this to me: how could it be a revolution and enjoys the support of Zionist hoodlums at the same time?
Youtube will tell you who the moderates are in the Syrian "revolution"
"We
know from open sources, YouTube videos and interviews who are secular freedom
lovers and who are the extremist religious types," Harmer
said."
Meet George Sabra: the representative of the left in the Syrian "revolution"
In this interview, he expresses admiration for Samir Ja`ja`, and particularly for his stance on Palestine. I am not making this up. (thanks Ahmad)
Defenders of Afghan women
"Dr Wadham, a former infantryman, says the use of images to
denigrate women is a long-standing tradition in the Australian Defence Forces,
but he says the involvement of senior personnel shows the problem may be much
worse than previously thought."
10 year anniversary of this blog
Michele just reminded me the other day: in September of this year, the ten-year anniversary of this blog will be marked. A celebration (in the form of a reception and formal dinner) will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown in Washington, DC.
Kidding of course: you know that hotel was the favorite for King Husayn of Jordan who avoided the Madison. His contacts in the city would procure prostitutes for him and bring them to his suite over the years. But don't get me wrong: the man was moderate and visionary--a visionary of surrender and capitulation and bribery.
Kidding of course: you know that hotel was the favorite for King Husayn of Jordan who avoided the Madison. His contacts in the city would procure prostitutes for him and bring them to his suite over the years. But don't get me wrong: the man was moderate and visionary--a visionary of surrender and capitulation and bribery.
racism in Italy
"A councillor belonging to Italy's anti-immigrant Northern League
party called Thursday for the country's first black minister to be raped,
sparking an outcry and her expulsion from the party." "Kyenge, an eye doctor and
Italian citizen originally from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has been
subjected to a barrage of racist attacks since being appointed minister in
February." (thanks Amir)
One in seven Danish men are fine with sex trafficking
"one in seven Danish men believe it is acceptable to use a prostitute who has
been the victim of trafficking."
Iranian presidential elections
I have said this before: those elections are perceived differently in the Middle East than they are here. In the US, they are compared to Swedish elections why in the Middle East they are judged relatively, notwithstanding the constraints placed upon them by the lousy Wilayat Al-Faqih system of government. People notice that elections results are not known in advance, and that can't be said even about presidential elections in Lebanon. From 1943, when Lebanon gained nominal independence, results of presidential elections were known in advance--well in advance--in all elections except that in 1970 when Franjiyyah won with one vote advantage (in Lebanon, presidents are elected indirectly by the Lebanese parliament to facilitate bribery).
Iranian elections
If you follow US (or Saudi) media, you would think that the competition in Iran was between Abe Foxman and Ahmadinejad and that Foxman won.
Sources of UN count of the dead in Syria
"A Data
A.1 Sources
HRDAG obtained data from the eight sources listed in Section 1 via dif-ferent mechanisms and at di erent times. Below is a brief description of each source, how and when HRDAG obtained data from each source, and any additional information available about each source's mission and data
collection and veri cation methods.
March 15 Group: This list was provided to HRDAG by OHCHR in February 2012. The group was recommended to OHCHR by the Local Coordination Committees, among others.
Syrian Government: This list was provided to HRDAG by OHCHR in September 2012.
Syrian Center for Statistics and Research: HRDAG scraped16 SCSR's website17 in May 2013 to obtain a copy of their published data. Indi-viduals can ll out a form on the SCSR website to add victim infor-mation. HRDAG established direct contact with SCSR in late May 2013 and in the future will be able to access data directly from SCSR.
Syrian Network for Human Rights: This list was provided to HRDAG by OHCHR in August 2012. Beginning in February 2013, HRDAG established a direct relationship with SNHR. SNHR conducts monthly reviews of their records and subsequently updates their dataset with newly discovered victims. These updates were not shared in time to be included in the data used in this analysis. SNHR maintains a website18 where they describe that they `adopt the highest approved documentation principles by the international bodies.'
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: This list was provided to HRDAG by OHCHR in December 2012 and again in May 2013. This list includes only \[c]ivilians and opposition ghters who are not de-
fectors" as categorized by SOHR. SOHR also collects data on defec- tors, pro-government militia (Sabihha), military and police personnel, unidenti ed persons, unidenti ed and foreign ghters, and Hezbollah
18
selves as `. . . a group of people who believe in Human Rights, from inside and outside the country, observing the Human Rights situation in Syria, documenting and criticizing all Human Rights violations, l- ing reports and spreading it across a broad Human Rights and Media range.' The website also speci es that SOHR `. . . is not associated or linked to any political body.'
Syrian Revolution General Council: This list was provided to HRDAG by OHCHR in February 2012 along with the description that `. . . a sta of 5 is diligently dedicated to documenting numbers of deaths using di erent means including visiting families of those killed and contacting mosques and also verifying medical records and in some cases inspection of the body by person when possible.'
Syrian Shuhada: This list was provided to HRDAG by OHCHR in February 2012. Subsequently HRDAG scraped the website20 several times in 2012 and 2013 to obtain updated data. It is worth noting that the SS website collects data from several sources, including the Syrian Network for Human Rights (one of the other sources for this analysis). As of 24 May 2013 the SS website reported 5,605 total records from SNHR, about 8% of SS's total database.
Violation Documentation Centre: This list was provided to OHCHR
in February 2012. Subsequently HRDAG scraped the website21 several
times in 2012 and 2013 to obtain updated data. The `About' page of
their website describes the data classi cation methods and three-stage
data veri cation process implemented by the VDC."
A.1 Sources
HRDAG obtained data from the eight sources listed in Section 1 via dif-ferent mechanisms and at di erent times. Below is a brief description of each source, how and when HRDAG obtained data from each source, and any additional information available about each source's mission and data
collection and veri cation methods.
March 15 Group: This list was provided to HRDAG by OHCHR in February 2012. The group was recommended to OHCHR by the Local Coordination Committees, among others.
Syrian Government: This list was provided to HRDAG by OHCHR in September 2012.
Syrian Center for Statistics and Research: HRDAG scraped16 SCSR's website17 in May 2013 to obtain a copy of their published data. Indi-viduals can ll out a form on the SCSR website to add victim infor-mation. HRDAG established direct contact with SCSR in late May 2013 and in the future will be able to access data directly from SCSR.
Syrian Network for Human Rights: This list was provided to HRDAG by OHCHR in August 2012. Beginning in February 2013, HRDAG established a direct relationship with SNHR. SNHR conducts monthly reviews of their records and subsequently updates their dataset with newly discovered victims. These updates were not shared in time to be included in the data used in this analysis. SNHR maintains a website18 where they describe that they `adopt the highest approved documentation principles by the international bodies.'
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: This list was provided to HRDAG by OHCHR in December 2012 and again in May 2013. This list includes only \[c]ivilians and opposition ghters who are not de-
fectors" as categorized by SOHR. SOHR also collects data on defec- tors, pro-government militia (Sabihha), military and police personnel, unidenti ed persons, unidenti ed and foreign ghters, and Hezbollah
18
selves as `. . . a group of people who believe in Human Rights, from inside and outside the country, observing the Human Rights situation in Syria, documenting and criticizing all Human Rights violations, l- ing reports and spreading it across a broad Human Rights and Media range.' The website also speci es that SOHR `. . . is not associated or linked to any political body.'
Syrian Revolution General Council: This list was provided to HRDAG by OHCHR in February 2012 along with the description that `. . . a sta of 5 is diligently dedicated to documenting numbers of deaths using di erent means including visiting families of those killed and contacting mosques and also verifying medical records and in some cases inspection of the body by person when possible.'
Syrian Shuhada: This list was provided to HRDAG by OHCHR in February 2012. Subsequently HRDAG scraped the website20 several times in 2012 and 2013 to obtain updated data. It is worth noting that the SS website collects data from several sources, including the Syrian Network for Human Rights (one of the other sources for this analysis). As of 24 May 2013 the SS website reported 5,605 total records from SNHR, about 8% of SS's total database.
Violation Documentation Centre: This list was provided to OHCHR
in February 2012. Subsequently HRDAG scraped the website21 several
times in 2012 and 2013 to obtain updated data. The `About' page of
their website describes the data classi cation methods and three-stage
data veri cation process implemented by the VDC."
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