:
S/Mon - Jan 10 -

QUASHED -

*Ever wonder
why some articles
just don't work out?*

From a Cathy Seipp piece at

:: National Review Online ::

...

:
S/Mon - Jan 10 -

VOICE EXCHANGE -

Gonzo Linguistics Prof Jeffrey in Queens is going to try to continue blogging until the Iraqi elections and then he'll have to put his blog on hiatus due to his academic responsibilities. He expects to resume blogging during the Summer of '05-- Gd willing, we should all live so long.

Meanwhile, he has enjoyed Actual Human Voice Exchange with Majid Jarrar:

*Majid Jarrar is traveling in the United States right now while on his winter break from Pearson College in Canada. We exchanged a couple emails and phone numbers and then last night, while he was in Manhattan and I was in Queens, we were able to talk on the phone for around an hour...

...Haider, Hamza, and Walid -- starting getting death threats.*

I'm really sorry to learn about this.

:: From Fri - Jan 7th Blog Entry ::
-- Iraqi Bloggers Central PERMA-LINK --

...

:
S/Mon - Jan 10 -

SOTTO VOCE -

As you know, I've been down with a bad case of the flu, so I slept most of the weekend and drank lots of pink lemonade, hoping to flush that stuff out of my system. While I can't honestly say that I'm "tan, rested, and ready for action" just yet, I'm going to try to do a bit of catch-up this session.

Kathy Kinsley has a couple of good Catches
over at her On The Third Hand weblog:

#1) *Why hasn't Osama bin Laden's terror network executed an attack on U.S. soil since 9-11?

...the Bush administration has identified the potential of wiping Mecca off the map as bin Laden's ultimate point of vulnerability...*

The foregoing is from a short piece at WND that makes for some interesting reading.

#2) The Disenchanted American - Are we growing world-weary?

This is the title of a good quality essay by Victor Davis Hanson.


:: On The Third Hand ::

...

:
Thu - Jan 6 -

SIGN OF THE FISH -

*What started as a campaign by religious extremists to impose sharia law in Baghdad and Iraq's other main cities, by attacking liquor shops, hairdressing parlours and music stores, has turned into a very lucrative mafia-style protection business.*

+ Our boy G is catching on to their nifty.

:: Guardian - Ghaith Abdul-Ahad ::

...

:
Thu - Jan 6 -

PERIODICALLY SPEAKING -

*Spoke to my old friend Samir Husni, a University of Mississippi journalism professor who is also known as 'Mr. Magazine.' That's because for over a decade, Samir has been tracking every new magazine published in America. Last year, it turns out, was a bumper year for new launches with over 900 new magazines hitting the newsstands.*

Great feature story. Very enjoyable.
Light reading. Take a break, put your
feet up, and dream about creating
new magazines...

:: Myrna Blyth - NRO ::

...

:
Thu - Jan 6 -

FREE SPIRIT TV BEAMING IN -

*A poll of Iraqis in June by Oxford Research International found 61 percent said they watched Alhurra in the previous week, and 64 percent found its news programming 'very or somewhat' reliable.*

"So the horrors won't recur,
be a part of drawing your future. Vote."

From an article by Donald Lambro.

:: Luring Iraqis to the polls - WashTimes ::

...

:
Thu - Jan 6 -

SIDEBAR UPDATE -

Early this morning, before dawn,
I updated my sidebar to include a profile.
Rather hard to compress one's entire
life into such a small patch, n'est pas?!

And I even included a brief quote
from the gandi troll who suspected
I might be a CIA agent: LOL!

...

:
Wed - Jan 5 -

AMBER FREY'S CONFESSIONAL -

There used to be a genre of magazines called "Confessionals" in which women used to write about their purported experiences like this one. I don't know if they still exist. I watched the TV interview Tues Evening and was reminded of that genre.

*Frey's tale also lured Judith Regan, president of HarperCollins' ReganBooks. Regan says Frey's 210-page tell-all, the product of interviews with an anonymous ghostwriter, came together in just the past few weeks.*


:: USATODAY - Frey's 'Witness' ::

...

:
Wed - Jan 5 -

Ooh, THOSE SCARY BALLOTS -

This is an interesting Op-Ed piece by Claude Salhani, though I currently have some reservations about his last paragraph.

*Osama bin Laden, the man who since September 11 has struck brought fear in the hearts of millions, is now running scared. The master terrorist is afraid; he is very afraid.

What frightens bin Laden today are not American B-2 super-stealth bombers capable of dropping tons of high explosives on him from unseen heights, nor the tens of thousands of troops and legions of intelligence officers looking for him since September 2001. He knows how to cope with them. What frightens bin Laden today is the ballot box.*


:: Osama's ballot box phobia - WashTimes ::

...

:
Wed - Jan 5 -

THE TAILORS OF QOM -

*For anyone who wants to learn more about Iranian clerical fashion, the place to visit is Qom. Besides its claim to fame as the spiritual heart of the Iranian revolution... it also boasts the best tailors to the Muslim clergy in the country, and possibly in all the Middle East...

...Qom now boasts more foreign residents and tourists than Tehran. Pizzerias have sprung up all over the city, and restaurants have added Arab dishes to their fare. Hotels, hostels, travel agents and souvenir shops cater to the hordes of pilgrims, religious tourists and seminarians from overseas. You can also check your email at the many "coffee net" places around town (although none of them actually serves coffee)...*

:: By Niloofar Haeri - The Guardian ::

...

:
Wed - Jan 5 -

LOOSE LINKS .IQ -

A Birdwatcher in Babylon -
Nature Notes from Iraq -

*I came back from a mission
down south near Nasiriyah a few days ago...

Around the Ziggurat of Ur
I saw a large Eagle (Aquila species)
and a Pied Wheatear...*


:: Birding Babylon Blog ::
-- via Rantburg --

...

:
Wed - Jan 5 -

THE BLACK BAG VOTE -

*Saudi women, who are banned from
participating in this year's landmark polls
to elect half the members of the kingdom's
municipal councils, are demanding representation
through appointment by the government.*

:: YahooNews/AFP - Saudi women ::

...

:
Tues - Jan 4 -

BAGHDAD PUBLIC FED UP! -

The mayor of Baghdad has been shot dead
while in his car in the northern Hurriyah
neighborhood of Baghdad...

*Another attack was foiled yesterday
after residents caught a suspected insurgent
planting explosives under civilian vehicles
in a busy area of the city. The man was seen
pleading for mercy from an angry mob.*

:: From The Scotsman ::

...

:
Tues - Jan 4 -

OR THEY'LL GO AND EAT WORMS -

The Islamic Army Cult in Iraq has threatened to carry out attacks inside the United States, according to a statement posted on a website...

"We will give American civilians a taste of what we are doing to civilians in our own country," said the statement, presented as a "message to the American people."

The message, which described the American people as 'uncivilized' and 'ignorant,' claimed that 'the whole world' hates America.

[They only wish!]


:: YahooNews/AFP - threats ::

...

:
Tues - Jan 4 -

MIND-LOCK ~~ woo woo ~~

A visit to Israel by Egyptian playwright Ali Salem has provoked sharp criticism from the Egyptian Writers' Union.

"We oppose any cultural normalization with Israel," Faruq Korshid, the head of the organization, intoned.

And novelist Sonallah Ibrahim told AFP that Salem was "acting as an auxiliary for the Mossad to infiltrate the Cultural Movement in Egypt".


Can you see it moving? No??
Look more closely.

See it moving now? No???

Take another look! There!-- It's moving a lot.

Ah, you just missed it! It was moving.

Hey, they don't call it a Movement for nothing.


YahooNews/AFP - dramatist's trip ::

...

:
Tues - Jan 4 -

DOCTOR GOES BESERK -

A Saudi medical student
carried out last month's suicide bombing against
a US Army base that killed 22 people in Mosul.

Ahmad Said Ahmad Al-Ghamdi was a
second-year medical student at Khartoum U.


+ I wonder if he was on drugs.


:: From The Arab News ::

...

:
Th/Fri - Dec 31 -

BUSY IN MAHMOOD'S DEN -

Announcing:

The Best of Arab Blog Awards

This has the potential to generate a lot of the same kind of fizzz as the voting for the Super Star TV show. As I recall, one very popular winner was a Jordanian gal named Diane Curezon. And in the US we've had a gal named Fantasia. People do tend to get excited about stuff like this. I also hope it motivates more people to try blogging and even to improve their language, communication, and literacy skills.

:: Best Arab Blog Awards ::

* * * * *

While I'm on the subject of Mahmood, I want to quote from his comments about the tsunami:

What is there to learn from this disaster other than we're here one second and gone the next, all completely out of our control? It is therefore best to work toward good deeds and make a difference, so at least you are remembered that you have done good in your life.

I'll second that motion!

:: Tsunami ::

...

:
Th/Fri - Dec 31 -

LIGHT BLOGGING -

I'm a bit under the weather due to a cold or the flu. I suspect the latter because the symptoms seem to better match it. So, blogging may be somewhat light for a while. Just sayin'.

I haven't gotten sick like this in many years. And, considering what people are currently going through with the tsunami problems, I don't feel that I have a lot to complain about in terms of my personal discomfort.

...

:
Thu - Dec 30 -

TRESPASS INTO
A FAMILY ALBUM? -

*Six Navy SEALs and two of their wives filed a lawsuit against The Associated Press and one of its reporters Tuesday for allegedly revealing their identities in photos published in early December, according to a press release from the plaintiffs.

The complaint, filed in California Superior Court, alleges that AP reporter Seth Hettena obtained a photograph in a personal Web site maintained by one of the wives of the Navy SEALs, which contains personal photographs...*

-- From an article by Joe Strupp at EandP --
:: Navy SEALs Sue AP ::
...

:
Thu - Dec 30 -

SAUDIS DEBATE CULTURE:
Dynamic or Static?

*We don't live alone in this world, Zahrani said.

We can t force the world to adjust with us.

We have to accommodate to the
new changes and be part of the world.*

: : Saudi Gazette Online : :
-- By Sabria S. Jawhar --

...

:
Thu - Dec 30 -

SOME BAGHDAD UPDATES -

1 : Frozen chickens were distributed to the poor of the Sadr City neighborhood by the US Military.

Big Pharaoh in Egypt has posted
a photo of some of the happy recipients.

2 : By the way, Big Pharaoh points us to a new Egyptian blog called something like
the Sandmonkey Blog.

* * *

And from off Aljazeera TV Net:

3 : Two Lebanese businessmen were kidnapped from the upscale Mansur neighborhood.

4 : US and Iraqi Forces have captured a couple of important henchmen of the Qaida/Zarqawi gang.

:: Aljazeera.Net ::
...

:
Tue - Dec 28 -

TOUCHY CONTROL FREAKS -

People who feel entitled
to keep others from hearing
whatever offends them are
a relatively small problem.

The big problem occurs
when the authorities give in to them...

:: From Op-Ed by George Jonas ::
-- via Rantburg --
...

:
Tue - Dec 28 -

SCOTT PETERSON CONVICTION -

*Much to our surprise...
Scott Peterson was recently
found guilty by a jury of his "peers"...

It seems now there is a legal precedent
that if your wife turns up dead and
you happen to be a sleaze, then it is
sufficient grounds for a death sentence.*

:: From the Scott Peterson Fan Club website ::
...

:
Tues - Dec 28 -

BOTTOM FEEDING -

Is Amber Frey a 'Bottom Feeder?'

Greta Van Susteren writes in her blog about
the "other woman" in the Peterson trial who is
producing a book:

*As for the show Thursday night, I wish I had Ted Williams' email address... if I did, I would be tempted to give it to you. Why? Because HE made the 'bottom feeder' comment about Amber Frey-- I did not... and, of course, the emails are pouring in about the insulting remark. I think he should be the one to answer all the emails about his remark... I like Ted, but I don't agree with him on this. Frankly I know very little about Amber except that she helped the police investigate this murder and helped the DA prosecute it. I should note, in all fairness to Ted, that many people wrote agreeing with his remark. I guess this is just as good a reason as any to watch all her interviews once her book comes out. We will all get a better idea of who she is.*

* * * * *

The remark, almost a throw-away in passing, was good TV: it was entertaining and it stirred the pot, making for good conversation. But within a Real World context, it was oddly discordant because the young woman is pictured prominently displaying a Cross hanging from a chain around her neck.

I think it is reasonable to expect that at least part of the profits from her book will be allocated to pay her legal bills. Lawyer Gloria Allred did a nice job on this case affording Frey a modicum of Human Dignity. Unfortunately, that is not always accorded without a lawyer right there to insist on it. I doubt that Allred hopes to hit the jackpot and strike it rich on this case, but she certainly is entitled to recuperate her office expenses incurred on it. The book seems like a civilized way to accomplish that.

But what will be the Theme of this book?

If Ted Williams' characterization holds true, it will disclose many intimate details of Frey's relationship with Peterson or depict it through a salacious filter. I doubt such an opus is in the works.

More likely, considering the prominent display of the religious symbol around Frey's neck, it will be a reflection of her inner struggle to reconcile what formerly had been her self-image with the role she found herself in during this episode of her life and a description of her efforts to transmute this struggle into something constructive and Redemptive.

Even though there are a lot of Dumb Blonde jokes around, Amber Frey has a right to express her perspective on things, just like anyone else-- including often-quoted taxicab drivers.


:: GRETAWIRE BLOG ::
-- Amber Frey a 'Bottom Feeder'? --

...

:
Sun - Dec 26 -

OCCUPATION: IDOLATOR -

*Early this month... a 30-year-old man known in his police dossier as Farid A., was found guilty of issuing death threats over the Internet.

When the conservative Dutch politician Geert Wilders described Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat last year as a "terrorist leader," Farid A. posted a picture of him on an Islamist website urging:

'Wilders must be punished with death for his fascistic comments about Islam, Muslims, and the Palestinian cause.'

name: geert wilders
occupation: idolator
sin: mocking Islam
punishment: beheading
reward: Paradise, in sha Allah*


Excerpted from a piece written by
Christopher Caldwell at The Weekly Standard
about the current Dutch situation.

Not for the squeamish.


:: Holland Daze ::

...

:
Sun - Dec 26 -

TOO MUCH DOWN-TIME:

*Al-Watan, a major, government-controlled
newspaper in Saudi Arabia is claiming that
U.S. soldiers in Iraq are killing Iraqis to steal
their organs and then selling
the organs to hospitals in the U.S.*


Q: Would this make a good Reality TV Show?

Naaah!
It sounds more like a case for Kolchak.


:: Soldiers Stealing Organs? ::
-- From Brit Hume at FOXNews --

...

:
Sun - Dec 26 -

A PROFILE OF DUBAI -

Scott Wilson at the WashPost
writes an extended soft feature piece:

*As flat as Florida and with few of the natural resources that bless its neighbors, this city-state on the shores of the Persian Gulf has had to invent its own economy over the years -- and it has succeeded spectacularly.

Prosperity has made this ancient trading hub -- one of the seven states that make up the United Arab Emirates -- something like a politics-free zone in a region rippling with discontent.*


:: An Arab Politics-Free Zone ::

...

:
Sun - Dec 26 -

PAKISTANI PASSPORT SNAFU -

*We feel that the omission of the religion column
is an attack on our very identity as Muslims,'
MMA leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman
told reporters in Karachi last month.*


:: BBC - Passports and religion ::

...

:
Sun - Dec 26 -

A HITCHINS-FEST:

*Hitchens is one of those people who surely emerged from the womb offering a salvo of critical judgments, possibly while smoking a cigarette: Do those lights have to be that bright? Can I see your medical credentials? Who ordered the epidural?...

There are warm, acute readings of Aldous Huxley, Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Kingsley Amis and Saul Bellow -- several of them introductions written for specific novels...

...to re-title Shakespeare plays as if they had been written by Robert Ludlum... came up with The Elsinore Vacillation, The Dunsinane Reforestation, The Kerchief Implication, and The Rialto Sanction.*


:: Excerpts - book review of Hitchins' Latest ::
-- By Mark Kingwell at the G and M --

...

:
Sat - Dec 25 -

THE DENTIST'S PHONE -

Zeyad the dentist who blogs at Healing Iraq has a wonderful but lengthy entry posted this weekend in which he covers the electricity situation as well as heat, water, gas and phones. He says he's back to using Internet cafes due to the (landline?) phone problems, so that he may not be posting as frequently.

*Nokia phones are the most popular in Baghdad, especially the 6600 model. Iraqis have already nicknamed it dabdoob (fat) because of its peculiar size and shape. The classic, cheap 1100 model is called taabuga (brick) because of its durability. Some people claim they have run over it in cars, dropped it from the roof, or attempted to smash it with a hammer and yet it still worked.*

But, local color aside, his mobile phone network seems to be plagued by mysterious systemic problems:

*As to the mobile phone network, specifically that of Baghdad, 'horrible' doesn't even start to describe it. The service is totally unavailable during the day and only seems to work after midnight. All you get is 'network busy', 'unknown error', 'weak signal', 'service unavailable' and things like that. Most of the time if you are trying to call someone your voice just echoes back to you. Of course there is an array of other problems with the service but Orascom should at least ensure that subscribers can effectively call each other.*

* * * * *

Did Zeyad mention Orascom??? Hmmm...

What do we know about Orascom?
It has been in the news lately.

This widely quoted recent article from Bloomberg
includes some information about Orascom:

*Arafat used a holding company to buy stock that included $285 million in Egyptian mobile-phone company Orascom Telecom Holding SAE and its affiliates ...

Arafat and his money managers invested abroad through Palestine Commercial Services Co, a holding company owned by the Palestinian Authority. Arafat controlled PCSC through his financial adviser, Mohamed Rachid...

The PCSC fund also owns a quarter of Algiers-based Orascom Telecom, valued at US$185 million, and 22 per cent of Tunis-based Orascom Telecom, worth US$75 million...

The Palestine Investment Fund owns 10 percent of the Egyptian company's stock outstanding...

Arafat adviser Rachid holds one of seven seats on Orascom Telecom's board of directors, according to Orascom's Web site...*

:: From Bloomberg.com ::

* * * * *

But wait, there's more.
A Dec 16th AP release reported:

*In Baghdad, unidentified gunmen on Thursday shot dead Qassim Mehawi, deputy head of the Communications Ministry as he was heading to work, police officials said...

U.S. and Iraqi security forces raided the Baghdad home of two Egyptian employees of an Iraqi mobile phone company belonging to Egypt's telecommunications giant Orascom, said Dina Abu Neda, a spokeswoman for Orascom Telecom.

Abu Neda said the U.S. and Iraqi forces also confiscated thousands of dollars from the men's home. "We don't know why they were detained, it came as a big surprise to us," Abu Neda said...*

* * * * *

It certainly couldn't help your phone company, if the Deputy Communications Minister gets whacked. But what's this about all that cash the Orascom guys had stashed in their refrigerator?

I suspect it would take an adept Kremlinologist to parse out exactly where in the vast, labyrinthian Orascom companies, among all those incognito shells and busy body-bombers, the crucial flaw is located which doesn't quite connect the network together.

This is surely a company that has a lot weighing on its mind right now.

:: Healing Iraq ::
-- Sat, Dec 25 entry - Winter Crises --

...

:
Fri/Sat - Dec 25 -

BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2004 -

From The (UK) Guardian,
something to browse over the the weekend.

"Celebrity picks and critics' choices"

:: Guardian - Books ::

...

:
Fri/Sat - Dec 25 -

To Manderley Again . . .

Amber Frey's book is already placed on Amazon where it is represented by its cover art done in the genre style of Gothic Romance. The cover concept looks good. But is there going to be any text in it???

**Before a California jury had sentenced Scott Peterson to death for premeditated murder, Regan Books already had signed the killer's mistress, Amber Frey, for a book scheduled to be released January 4 ... With the publication date looming, Frey either already has been writing the book (there apparently was no open bidding) or a professional ghost writer will be used.**

:: From Library Journal ::

...

:
Fri - Dec 24 -

AL-MANAR STILL DEFIANT -

**'Al-Manar should have directly apologised -- which is normal practice in the Western media -- after the AIDS slur, in order to distance itself from any potential blame or criticism,' said Kamel Al- Tawil, a correspondent with Al-Hayat in London. 'Arab media outlets broadcasting in the West should be well aware of the laws by which they have to abide,' he added, slamming the Hizbullah screening of the AIDS rumour as 'by no means justified'.

Meanwhile, Al-Manar continues to reach viewers in Europe through Saudi and Egyptian satellite operators, Arabsat and Nilesat.**

:: Al-Ahram - Al-Manar in the dog house ::

...

:
Thu - Dec 23 -

ANOTHER ENCOUNTER ?

**Now, Mailander has had a CIA bee in his bonnet about Iraq the Model for some time...

At his L.A. gathering, Roger Simon asked Omar and Mohammed about Cole's suggestion that they're really CIA spies. They laughed, and made motions to pull off masks like Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible. No, they added, they are not backed by the CIA. "People also used to accuse us of not being really Iraqi," Omar said. "Then finally they had to admit that, OK, we are Iraqi."**


+ I suggest you do a Google search for *Encounter Magazine +CIA* to learn some of the background on this issue if you don't know about it already.


:: Catherine Seipp on Iraq the Model - NRO ::
-- Via BuzzMachine --

...

:
Thu - Dec 23 -

BOWLING FOR ARAFAT -

From a story that is currently
making the rounds on American TV:

**Bowlmor ... advertises itself
on its Web site as an ideal location
for bar and bat mitzvahs for Jewish teens.**


:: From Newsday - AP ::

...

:
Wed/Thu - Dec 23 -

TRAPPED: IRAQI WOMEN = Yes or No?

This is the kind of Op-Ed piece that drives me up a wall. It reminds me of Camus' Imp of the Perverse. It doesn't really inform. It adds more heat than light. And it even prompts me to question the editorial judgement of The Guardian. Oh, sure, they want to show the "other side" of some vague argument. The Contrarian Position.

You, Dear Female Reader, were better off in Saddam Hussein's Bottle. Unless, maybe, his gargoyle-like progeny selected you to be kidnapped, raped, mutilated, tortured and killed... Or, you were better off, unless SH had you gassed.

The last time Literacy rates were checked for Iraq, it seemed to me that the Women's rate had dipped below 50%. Frankly, I have strong feelings about Illiteracy-- I have come to regard it as a form of Imprisonment.

So, tell me: Life in Saddam's Bottle was better, but for who? I can't believe that an illiterate life is better than a literate life.

Haifa Zangana, an Iraqi-born novelist, writes:

Of all the blunders by the US administration in Iraq, the greatest is its failure to understand Iraqi people, women in particular...

...Lack of security and fear of kidnapping make Iraqi women prisoners in their own homes...

+ But there is no indication where Zangana is writing her remarks. She seems to be writing as an onlooker at long distance. Maybe the passage of time has melted some of her memories into others, blurring the vision of her reveries which are already tinted with the rosy glasses we often use to in evoking the Past. This rose filter, we are told, is like a mental health band-aid that has the function of insulating us from re-experiencing past pains.

:: Guardian - Zangana - 'Quiet' ::

* * * * *

Meanwhile, Faiza Jarrar, who does not appear to be at all trapped at home, is busily kiting around the rest of the Middle East. (Didn't Iraqis have a tough time trying to get out of Saddam's Bottle in the Bad Old Days?) On the other hand, I wouldn't be sufficiently honest if I didn't at least mention that Faiza was also carjacked in Baghdad not so long ago. So, the New Era has been a mixed bag.

Faiza writes from Amman, Jordan:

This is the first time I visited Cairo, I always wanted to go there, for years and years, but the family, the business, and the various circumstances of life wouldn’t let me fulfill that dream. Now, I am so happy with it.

This is a good piece by Faiza, though a bit long-ish. If you have time, try to catch it. Or if you don't, maybe you can copy it to floppy and then read it offline at your convenience.

It's Faiza's reaction to Cairo. And her latest "take" on current World Politics. She's entitled to her Point of View ... Thank you for sharing :-)

:: Faiza's Dispatch ::
-- Wed - Dec 22 / trans from Tues --

...

:
Sun - Dec 19

AL-MANAR REFUTES LEGAL BOUNDARIES -

*Abdullah Shamseddine, editor in chief of Al-Manar news, told The Daily Star the French action was based on a legal issue, "while the U.S. decision is bluntly a political decision against our media organization."

[ ... ]

"[In France] The damage is merely political," he added. "Viewers can still watch via NileSat and by adjusting their dishes, receive our signal. The same applies to South American countries."

According to Al-Manar officials, the damage in the U.S. is technical and political.*

:: By Adnan El-Ghoul, The Daily Star LB ::


+ Not so, as Faithful Readers of this blog so well know.

There have been two legal precedents already established on this issue.

The first was the case of Jules Streicher at the Nuremberg Tribunals. And the second involved Media executives for a Rwanda radio station and newspaper. I have previously cited the Missouri/NY Times source to document this.

DeNial is not just a river in Egypt . . .

...

:
Sun - Dec 19 -

SoFLo TERROR TRIAL SET -

**A federal judge has set a Sept. 19 trial date for a computer programmer from Sunrise who is accused of providing money and recruits for radical Islamic terrorists bent on waging a global holy war.

Adham Amin Hassoun, 43, was indicted earlier this year. He is accused of conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists.**

His new lawyer got his first look Wednesday at the evidence the government has compiled, including 24,897 pages of recently declassified documents and 744 pages of intercepted conversations in Arabic.

:: From Sun-Sentinel - Broward County ::

-- Fort Lauderdale --
-- News Briefs of Dec 16, 2004 --

...

:
Sun - Dec 19 -

NEW UAE TRAINING ASSIST -

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in Dubai is establishing a training center for the development of public administration and governmental leadership in partnership with Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government to enhance public sector management.

This announcement may have some connection to the Arab Strategy Forum recently held in Dubai, UAE.

:: SHEIKH MO (The Geek Sheikh) ::

:: STRATEGY FORUM ::

...

:
Sun - Dec 19 -

"THE VOICE OF SATAN" -

Al-Manar Has Left the Building -

**On Friday French-owned satellite carrier GlobeCast removed Al-Manar from the US airwaves...

"The channel is no longer present on the satellite," GlobeCast's New York spokesman, Robert Marking, told AFP...

The move means that Al-Manar, which was dropped from French-based Eutelsat's broadcasts Tuesday after a Paris court found it guilty of anti-Semitism, is now no longer available in North America and can only be seen in Europe on the Nilesat satellite, Lebanese broadcast sources said.**

:: AFP via Yahoo ::

* * *

"Intellectual Terrorism" -

**The station, which ranks fourth or fifth among Lebanon's nine stations and claims to have nearly 10 million viewers around the world...**

:: Zeina Karam, AP via WashTimes ::

...

:
Sat/Sun - Dec 19 -

IT MUST HAVE FOLLOWED YOU HOME . . .

The inevitable has finally happened! Media Professionals and Wannabees and maybe even Has-bins have formed an Exclusive Bloggers Organization. Of course, it was only a matter of time before this would happen. I'm just surprised it didn't happen before now. There is an inherent compulsion in many people to exclude others and the aspiration on their parts to acquire the power to do so.

Some people may see this as a positive development, but I don't.

I'm quite saddened by this news. Mostly, I plan to ignore it as much as possible.

What next? If you want to use your blog to criticize The Media, you'll have to first post a $200,000 bond. And then maybe you'll have to pass a sniff test.

On one occasion, in response to an entry on Jeff Jarvis' weblog, my comment preview received a "ban," disallowing me from posting it, for no apparent reason. In an e-mail to me, Jeff denied responsibility for banning me. And earlier tonight, Jarvis invited suggestions, in response to which, my proposed comment was to be disallowed because, his weblog advised me, I would not be permitted to use the name of a drug. Oh, I'm sure there are wonderful reasons for this, but in any case, this incident gives you a glimpse of what's to come.

The Media Bloggers have become the new Sacred Cows. And I have always been deeply skeptical of those who take themselves too seriously. That day has now arrived in BlogLand.

:: Media Bloggers Association ::

...

:
Fri - Dec 17 -

KSA DEMOS FIZZLED OUT -

Blogger Mansur in Jeddah says the demonstrations which were expected there were mostly not happening:

**There were a handful of protestors, two were arrested, the others ran into a mosque, and eventually they were also caught. Two of the protestors fired gunshots from their car outside a mosque. All the images I had of a demonstrations, based on the ones I see in Pakistan and London, did not materialize here in Jeddah.**

Well, at least they're safe.


:: PERMALINK to this entry ::

:: Life of Mansur Blog ::

...

:
Fri - Dec 17 -

BIN LADEN'S LATEST LECTURE -

**The new tape repeats bin Laden's demand for the Saudi government's overthrow...

On the tape, bin Laden cheered on the insurgency in Iraq, calling the U.S. occupation the "largest stealing operation" in history and urging Muslims not to miss the chance for "targeting Americans" there. In particular, he urged targeting of oil fields in Iraq and the Persian Gulf to disrupt U.S. access to "cheap oil."

Bin Laden also made clear, with praise for the attack on the U.S. Consulate, that he was avidly following current events from his hideout...

In the lengthy speech, he ranges widely from the fate of Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu, who was publicly executed in 1989, to alleged American involvement in Saudi religious education and the flaws of current leaders in Jordan and Morocco... **

* * * * *

+ My Comments:

So, now we know why he was so keen to expel the American military forces from KSA. He's scheming to attack their oil facilities. But the government there probably has options to deal with such a prospect. I'm just guessing that since they employ a lot of Pakistanis already, they might call on some Pakistani military forces to protect the installations. Or there's always the French Foreign Legion-- that's the kind of thing they do. And there are probably other options available to them.

He's avidly following current events from his hideout...

Where do you suppose he is? How avidly?

I'm just guessing that he must be the houseguest of a wealthy international businessman at this point.

He certainly doesn't understand Global Economics. Are the Chinese "stealing" oil, too? He's a nihilist-- this is strictly Year Zero stuff... you know, like the Khamer Rouge in Cambodia. His sinister plan would shut down the whole planet like in that movie. And what would that accomplish? How would that make the world a better place? Think about it. Obviously, he didn't. That Cambodian phenom had a Purification intent, as I recall.

And everything in the world would be dictated by those male floozies he runs around with-- remember them? Those guys who wear eye makeup. Even Philip K. Dick couldn't have imagined a world like that. It's enough to give one the vapors...

In the lengthy speech, he ranges widely...

Wouldn't it be a lot simpler
if he just got a Blog of his own?!

:: Excerpts From:
:: C Whitlock and SB Glasser, WaPo ::
-- (Registration may be required) --

...

:
Fri - Dec 17 -

GOING DARK -

London-based Asharq al-Awsat announced the temporary closure of their Baghdad office as of Thursday in order to protect the safety of their employees...

The Pan-Arab newspaper said that armed men calling themselves mujahideen (holy fighters) threatened on Monday to blow up their office...

The Saudi-owned daily said the gunmen had taken one of its journalists from his house to their car to issue a threat...

"The men said that they sever the heads of those who malign them like they cut off the heads of sheep," the newspaper quoted its journalist as saying.

A better explanation of the threats is found at the BBC.

:: From Reuters via Khaleej Times ::

:: BBC LINK ::

...

:
Fri - Dec 17 -

IRAQI AUTO-DOCUMENTARY:

**Last spring, three enterprising Americans -- filmmakers Eric Manes and Martin Kunert, both former producers for MTV, and Gulf War veteran Archie Drury, a former Marine -- decided to find out [what Iraqis think about their liberation.] They distributed 150 digital video recorders to ordinary Iraqis and asked them to film anyone or anything they thought worthwhile and then pass the camera on to someone else.

From April to September, the cameras traveled from hand to hand through every region of the country. What eventually came back to the three Americans was 450 hours of raw video recorded by more than 2,000 Iraqis from all walks of life -- and not one frame of it influenced by an outside director or crew. Edited down to a taut 80 minutes, the result -- "Voices of Iraq" -- is a gripping documentary that for the first time shows Iraq as even the most skillful American journalist will never be able to show it: through the eyes and ears of Iraq’s people.**


+ Maybe they'll sell DVD's for home consumption.


:: Jeff Jacoby - Boston Globe
-- Iraq through Iraqis' eyes --
-- via "trailing wife" on Rantburg Blog --

:: Voices of Iraq ::

...

:
Thu - Dec 16 -

SAUDI MILITIA MUSTERING -

*RIYADH - Hundreds of Saudi security forces gathered in Riyadh on Thursday ahead of planned protest marches against the kingdom's absolute monarchy organised by an exiled opposition figure.

Witnesses said security forces, some carrying batons, were brought into the centre of town in coaches with iron grills over their windows. Dozens of police cars patrolled the area and police motorbikes blocked some access roads...*

:: Reuters via Khaleej Times ::

...

:
Tu/Wed - Dec 15 -

IMPOTENT QATARIS ARRESTED -

At least nine Qatari men have been arrested in Afghanistan.

*The group was visiting Afghanistan to hunt the rare houbara bustard, considered an aphrodisiac in the Gulf.

According to a border police official in Spin Boldak ... the group was ordered to leave Afghanistan on Monday...

The men had planned to travel to the Helmand province of southern Afghanistan to hunt the houbara bustard with falcons.*

No sexually impotent men were identified in this article.

BBC NEWS - South Asia

...

:
Tu/Wed - Dec 15 -

THE WELCOME WAGON ARRIVES -

US Congressman and Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert (Republican-Illinois) has invited members of the Saudi Shoura Council to visit the US and attend some Congressional sessions...

Khalid Al-Dhebain, organizer of Shoura Council sessions, said that in such cases when the Council receives an invitation they submit it to the King in order to be approved.

: : Saudi Gazette Online : :
-- By Maha Sami Aboulola --

...

:
Tu/Wed - Dec 15 -

MAGIC KINGDOM REFORMS -

Protest marches calling for reforms
are planned for major cities in KSA this week.

Saad al-Faqih, a London-based exile, said
the peaceful demonstrations would begin after
noon prayers on Thursday - in defiance of an
official ban.

:: From Aljazeera TV Net ::

...

:
Tu/Wed - Dec 15 -

IRAQ UPDATES:

Infiltration Worries -

The National Assembly criticized some statements made by King Abdullah of Jordan which suggested that a million Iranians would infiltrate Iraq to register or vote in Iraq's upcoming elections with their government's encouragement.

:: From Al-Sabah - Left Scroll ::

* * *

Lights Out -

There have been widespread power outages around Iraq since the weekend due to the erruption of a fire at the Beiji power plant, 155 miles north of Baghdad, PM Allawi told a live call-in show on the Iraqiya television network.

:: From IraqNet ::

...

:
Tu/Wed - Dec 15 -

AL-MANAR:

Pulling the Plug
Is Not So Simple -

*'The CSA does not dispose of an elevator and magic scissors allowing it to rise up to the satellite and sever the feed,' said Baudis in Le Monde.*

Some background information.

:: By Claude Salhani, UPI ::

* * *
France pulls plug...

*The Council of State ordered France-based satellite company Eutelsat to stop transmitting Lebanese station al-Manar within 48 hours...

The station, backed by the Lebanon's Iranian-sponsored Islamist movement Hezbollah, can be beamed to France on at least two non-French satellites, over which the court has no jurisdiction.*

:: BBC ::

* * *
*Eutelsat, which risks a fine of 5,000 euros for every day it goes over the 48-hour deadline, said it could only unplug Al-Manar by taking eight other channels off its service at the same time.*

:: REUTERS/Haaretz ::

...

:
Tu/Wed - Dec 15 -

MULLAH MANIAC
REGIME STRIKES AGAIN -

*Mentally-ill girl who was sold for sex faces death penalty in Iran.

...a case that has prompted a human rights lawyer to prepare a charge of wrongful execution against the presiding judge.*


:: By Angus McDowall in Tehran ::

-- For The UK Independent --

...

:
Tues - Dec 14 -

WHO ARE THE "REAL" VICTIMS?

*Today the real victims of
Western anti-Semitism are Arabs
and Muslims, argues Joseph Massad*

Prof. Joseph Massad from Columbia University in New York City has another op-ed essay in this week's Al-Ahram. Massad has become something of a lightening rod attracting controversy at his school lately under murky circumstances which are currently under investigation.

In this week's piece the main thrust of his polemic is: he seems to be advocating that we should not limit the definition of anti-Semitism to Jewish targets alone, but, rather, that we should extend it to encompass both Arabs and Moslems, too.

* * *

I would be opposed to accommodating his proposal.

:. First, would such an accommodation add
more lucidity and illumination to the issue?

:. And second, what harm would it do?

* * *

In Europe many of the victims of violent bigotry in Germany have been Turks who are not Arabs and may not be Moslems. Elsewhere in Europe such as France, many of the victims have been Berbers from Morocco and North Africa.

In the U.S. we have seen cases in which Sikhs, who are neither Arabs nor Moslems, have been assaulted because the perpetrator imagined them to be Arabs or Muslims on the basis of the turbans they customarily wear.

Such groups are not included in Massad's proposed extention.

How far can we extend anti-Semitism? Were we to include Sikhs, we would be extending the definition infinitely which negates the very concept of the term "definition." Doing so would be the opposite of defining a term.

Thus, the accommodation of Massad's proposal would not add more lucidity and illumination. And it would cause harm.

* * *

How would it cause harm? It would obscure, trivialize and marginalize the real pain and suffering experienced by members of other groups who are targets of violent bigotry, which is unconscionable. And this would re-victimize them.

In effect, then, his proposal would increase the number of victims.

What we are really talking about here is the issue of Social Identity which is an intellectual construct. And it is my feeling that the bulk of this essay reflects Joseph Massad's own individual Post-Colonial Identity Crisis, rather than any real progress in civil or human rights.

In the end, Massad's claim that Moslem Arabs are "the real victims," upon closer examination, is just not accurate enough to be true.

* * *

Can we find any common ground on this issue? Yes, I think we can. I am opposed to bigotry even if it isn't against Jews.

The rest of the essay is too muddled and filled with cant to address seriously here.

* * *

But don't take my word for it if you're a skeptic.

Read it for yourself.

* * *

:: Semites and anti-Semites, that is the question ::

...

:
Sun - Dec 12 -

DEMOCRACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST -

The Blame Game -

at the Rabat, Morocco, conference:

*the Iraqi bloodshed ruined any chance of rapproachment between Americans and ME'ers...

In Morocco, Islamic activists in the media denounced yesterday’s conference as an "indignity" and "a humiliation of the Moroccan people".*

+ This indignity/humiliation line is an old, familiar tune. But doesn't the use of it here suggest that it is being used as a defense mechanism in order to deny their fear of failing?

:: From Ian Mather - ScotSunday ::

* * * * *

Arab Elections -

Meanwhile, a Saturday entry on The Arabist Network weblog offers a translated excerpt from a recent Faisal al Kassem "Point-Counterpoint" program about Middle East elections on Aljazeera TV which is notable for its stark candor:

*Do Arab leaders think that they can trick their people with small reductions in their margins of victory in elections, by reducing their official vote rigging from 99.99 percent to 97 or 95 percent? When will they stop this farce and this cheap theater?...*

:: Read the Rest ::

...

:
Sat - Dec 11 -

GLOBAL VOICES ONLINE -

Some links for this weekend's conference:

:: Global Voices Online ::

:: Globalvoices del.icio.us (Link Log) ::

:: Global Voices Aggregator ::

:: Berkman Center ::


+ Jeff Jarvis from BuzzMachine is attending,
-- see link on sidebar.

+ Hope to be back later.

...

:
Thu/Fri - Dec 10 -

BIRDS ONBOARD -

LEGAL EAGLE -

*Famed First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams will help Columbia University probe mounting charges that top professors have intimidated or bullied Jewish students in their classrooms."

:: Columbia taps lawyer ::

* * * * *

THE PARROT THAT LIVED
UNDER THE STAIRS, TOO?

Faiza Jarrar has moved from the house that was dangerously near the Airport Road to a relatively safer location in Baghdad, but she can still hear the sounds of combat in her new home.

I wonder if she brought the parrot that used to live under the staircase with her.

Hey, what's happening... ?

:: From A FAMILY IN BAGHDAD ::

...

:
Thurs - Dec 9 -

LOOSE MEDIA LINKS: Middle East Style -

After a year of taking her film, Control Room, around the US and the West, director Jehane Noujaim finally brought the film to the Middle East with showings in Dubai and Cairo...

* ...the response of Arab viewers to the film, which has yet to be distributed in any Arab country, was one of anger and unease at the Dubai International Film Festival... *

+ I don't think Aljazeera is taking enough responsibility for the effect it is having on people. Is this the kind of effect they want to have? I think they need to reexamine this issue.

:: Aljazeera TV Net - Film about Aljazeera ::

* * * * *

In other ME Media News... Miriam at the Bloghead blog reports that Israel's largest news website has announced it is will be presenting an English-language version "soon."

*I am the Managing Director of Ynetnews.com, and I promise no yellow journalism and no sleaze, no registration and no fees for anyone, anywhere.*

The above is a quote from someone named Alan on the comment thread for this item found at the Bloghead blog. But Miriam warns that it is, at the very least, very tabloid-ish. So, don't get your hopes up for anything Lofty.

:: Bloghead Blog ::

:: Ynetnews Online ::

...

:
Mon - Dec 6 -

J-AUTONOMY EXCORIATED BY AL-JAZ:

*A civil rights group has accused the Israeli interior ministry of grossly and systematically violating the rights of non-Jews in Israel in order to maintain the state's ethnic purity [sic] ...

"Nothing like this happens anywhere in the world, and the reason is racism, sheer racism," said ["Arab Knesset member"] Muhammad Baraka in a recent interview with Aljazeera.net.*


+ Hmmm, I thought this was why Pakistan was carved out of India... Baraka is not a Jewish Arab, by any chance, is he? Just wondering...

O.K., Al-Jaz did not "get it right" this time. Should we keep a scorecard?

Better yet, maybe Al-Jaz should report their complaint to the Jewish member of the Saudi parliament so he can do something about it ;-)

:: AL-JAZ - Israel biased ::

...

:
Mon - Dec 6 -

US CONSULATE IN JEDDAH UNDER ATTACK -

*Attackers struck the U.S. consulate in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Monday, setting the building on fire and exchanging fire with security forces.*

May be Breaking News ...

Check for Updates.

:: Yahoo! News ::

...

:
Mon - Dec 6 -

BIN LADIN DOPE KINGPIN ACCUSED -

*'We know of individuals in Afghanistan who continue to fund al Qaeda with drug proceeds.'

Bin Laden's major supplier, U.S. authorities say, is Haji Bashir Noorzai, a former Taliban financier who smuggles heroin from the Kandahar area to al Qaeda in Pakistan.

The Pentagon adviser said Noorzai helped finance al Qaeda when it operated with the Taliban. The alliance continues to this day ... *

:: Rowan Scarborough - WashTimes ::

...

:
Mon - Dec 6 -

ANOTHER WINDOW ON IRAQ -

Photographs by seven photographers which I haven't had time to look through yet, but hereby duly noted.

I'm usually surfing at only half-speed these days and currently I'm on an especially slow connection.

Found at :: Sabbah's Blog ::

:: Entry Link ::

:: 'IRAQ UNCENSORED' PHOTOS ::

...

:
Sat - Dec 4 -

LATEST DISH FROM FAYHAA -

Incredibly, GM all the way over in Egypt has managed to get Fayhaa TV from Iraq!

That channel, he tells us, carries telephone call-in talk shows. And it seems like the lively debate they are broadcasting must be creating a unique sensation around the Middle East.

GM's entry for Wed, Dec 1st, describes some of the latest content which he has kindly translated into English for us.

I love stuff like this!


*So, what are people saying on Fayhaa?*

:: SNEAK PEEK [permalink] ::


-- BIG PHARAOH BLOG --

...

:
Fri/Sat - Dec 4 -

THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE -

Aljazeera TV Net is currently carrying 2 articles on their website that behoove more than merely a
passing glance.

The first article is an op-ed piece by Mohammed al-Obaidi entitled "Why Iraqis should boycott the election." Woo-woo!

This manifesto is so wacky that I won't even try to reprise it here. But sometimes it's important to make an effort to gain some insight into how even wacky people think.

Sure, I could pick out some obvious howlers for you.

For example: *their links to international intelligence agencies.* [Code Word Alert! ... hint: they meet every month under the Full Moon in the Prague Cemetary.]

But I'm in a Take-No-Prisoners mood tonight and by the time I finished the second article, I was really frosted.

Mind you, I want Aljazeera to do well. And I am generally supportive of their aspirations to become a sort of Arabic CNN. But then they go and pull some shenanigan like this: "Al-Manar deplores French ban call."

I respect AJ's attempt to get the "other side" of the story. That's a given. But if you read this article about Al-Manar carefully, you'll realize that this isn't THE story because a crucial and intrinsic element of THE story has been omitted: viz; in what specific way Al-Manar violated their pledge.

And not only was this a bretrayal of Al-Manar's oath, but Aljazeera's website editor doesn't seem to think that the issue itself is important enough to even mention, which brings me to another important question.

Has Aljazeera actually done any programs or educational outreach to explain how and where AIDS and Ebola originated and how these diseases are spread?

This Al-Manar article is infuriating and outrageous. First, it lies by omission; and spreading lies is Evil. Can we at least agree on that?

Second, it is completely irresponsible in its abject failure to educate its audience or readers about the disease.

Is Aljazeera also telling its market that AIDS is caused by a magical djinn?

Obviously, I'm a little short on patience tonight, so I'll stop here, rather than rant on about it.

Sigh! Maybe it's just Aljazeera Evil Twin Night at that TV station right now... but I sure would like to dock that reporter's paycheck for this travesty of ethical practices.

...

:
Fri/Sat - Dec 4 -

ACRIMONY FESTIVAL -

*London University School of Oriental and African Studies has come under fire for agreeing to host a conference tomorrow at which academics begin a campaign to break links with Israeli universities...

Hilary Rose, who is coordinating the campaign, said that it marked a substantial escalation of the boycott movement.*


. . . to destroy Jewish autonomy in
the Middle East.


More insanity!


:: The Guardian -Israel boycott ::

...

:
Fri/Sat - Dec 4 -

CORRECTION -

The Blogging Conference which I mentioned last night [see item below], is actually set for next weekend. Global Voices at Harvard Law School is going to attract some interesting bloggers from all over the world. Check out the list on their sidebar.

Sorry for the inaccuracy.

...

:
Fri - Dec 3 -

TMI - [Too Much Information] --

*Saudi police have arrested nine people who tried to attend the trial of three reform campaigners, witnesses say...

Those detained included journalists working for two newspapers: the Saudi Gazette and al-Madinah.*


:: BBC NEWS - Middle East ::

...

:
Fri - Dec 3 -

COMING UP THIS WEEKEND -

Media Development in the Arab Region - The meeting would be held in Doha (Qatar) from 6-8 December 2004 and would focus Media and Community Empowerment and pluralism, Regional media and dialogue and competencies, Arab media priorities and reform.

:: DOHA MEDIA CONFER ::


And in Boston, Global Voices Conference:

:: HARVARD CYBER CONFER ::

...

:
Fri - Dec 3 -

POOR IMPULSE CONTROL TV -

*French PM Jean-Pierre Raffarin has called for a Lebanon-based satellite TV channel backed by Hezbollah to be taken off air for its 'anti-Semitic' content.*

Last week, monitors recorded a commentator on the Al-Manar TV channel speaking of what he called "Zionist attempts to transmit Aids to Arab countries".

The channel signed an undertaking not to incite hatred or violence.

:: BBC NEWS - Europe ::

...

:
Thurs - Dec 2 -

FREE SPEECH FOR ME
BUT NOT FOR THEE ?

*The president of the Middle East Media Research Institute [MEMRI], Yigal Carmon, has threatened to file suit against Juan Cole, a professor of Middle Eastern history, and the University of Michigan...

Two years ago, Cole threatened his own lawsuit, against Campus Watch... *

:: By Nathaniel Popper ::
-- At the Forward via CW --

...

:
Mon - Nov 29 -

BUT HOW DID HE GET THAT WAY?

*Bouyeri's move from community organizer to alleged terrorist was swift and shocking to friends, teachers and co-workers.*

+ An interesting background article about the fellow who allegedly killed van Gogh.

:: By Glenn Frankel :: WashPost ::

-- via msnbc/myway --

...

:
Mon - Nov 29 -

NOT JUST A GIRL THANG -

*A young Iranian-American journalist returns to Tehran and discovers not only the oppressive and decadent life of her Iranian counterparts who have grown up since the revolution, but the pain of searching for a homeland that may not exist.*

:: LIPSTICK JIHAD ::

-- By Azadeh Moaveni via HODER --

...

:
Sun - Nov 21 -

SLAUGHTER VIDEOS -

*Terrorists have become film directors and the video camera is their most powerful weapon, with the West a captive audience. In the week of Margaret Hassan's killing, Jason Burke explores the phenomenon of the reality horror show.*

+ Try to catch this article, especially if you've read PAINTED BLACK by Prof Carl Raschke, which contains some related background material.

The Observer - Theatre of terror

...

:
Sun - Nov 21 -

ADHAMIYA IN BAGHDAD ERUPTS -

*The scenes in Baghdad sent a shudder through the capital, as fighting emptied streets and unfurled columns of black smoke over the Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Adhamiya.*

Anthony Shadid give a rundown and compilation of the weekend's events, painting a picture of of Baghdad.

:: Shadid for WaPo :: via Yahoo ::

...

:
Sun - Nov 21 -

JORDANIAN JIHADIS IN IRAQ -

*Jordanian security officials estimate that several hundred Jordanian 'holy warriors' have headed to Iraq since last year's war to join various Sunni Muslim militant groups.*

From a Reuters Feature Story

:: By Suleiman al-Khalidi :: via Yahoo.

...

:
Thurs - Nov 18 -

HEARTS AND MINDS --
THE WAR ON THE INTERNET -

*If you are a cybernaut, you now have much more influence over young Muslim minds than a scholar who has spent 40 years studying the traditions.*

The War for Muslim Minds by Gilles Kepel

is published by Belknap/Harvard University Press.

:: From The BBC Magazine ::

...

:
Thurs - Nov 18 -

FALLUJAH: 3 FAMILIES WHO LEFT -

*Thousands of Iraqis fled the city
of Falluja in the weeks leading up to
the assault on the city by US forces.

BBCArabic.com
spoke to three families
who left the city to seek shelter.*

:: Falluja Families speak out ::

...

:
Thurs - Nov 18 -

FALLUJAH REMNANTS -

*During the past two days, more than 500 civilians who hid during the fighting rather than leave their homes have turned up at the school and a nearby mosque, where U.S. and Iraqi security forces are providing food and water...

The majority of Fallujah's 250,000 residents fled before the offensive began, and Orbock said it was hard to estimate how many stayed, probably fewer than 1,000. "We know they are out there," he said.*

:: By Jackie Spinner - WashPost ::
-- Via Yahoo - Reg Required --

...

:
Thurs - Nov 18 -

VS NAIPAUL BOOK in REVIEW -

*Magic Seeds, V.S. Naipaul's latest and possibly last book, is a quiet and introspective account of one man's drift through a world of revolution and social decay...*

:: By Matt Crenson ::
-- For AP via Yahoo --

...

:
Thurs - Nov 18 -

JPOST SALE -

Hollinger has agreed to sell The JPost to Mirkaei Tikshoret Ltd. And CanWest, which is Canada's biggest newspaper publisher, will acquire half-ownership.

CanWest CEO Leonard Asper said his company has had a long-standing interest in The JPost, wishing to extend its reach and influence in North America and around the world.

+ Since they have a registration requirement, I'm not so sure their aspirations will be bountifully fulfilled. The question that is on most people's minds is whether their editorial "tilt" will survive. (I skip almost all editorials whenever possible.)

:: Via Yahoo ::

...

:
Thurs - Nov 18 -

IRIS CHANG SUICIDE -

*The suicide near San Francisco last week of Iris Chang, 36, author of 'The Rape of Nanking,' raises questions about the psychological toll of exposure to past tragedy, and experts say reactions differ.

[ ... ]

David Spiegel, associate chair of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, said some researchers believe it is possible that "people can sort of get post-traumatic stress disorder symptom by proxy."*


:: Author's Suicide ::

...

:
Wed - Nov 17 -

FLORIDA TRAFFIC LIGHT DJINN -

The Eide holiday on Monday was marked in Fort Lauderdale by a traffic light glitch in the computer system, according to Broward County's Chief Traffic Engineer, Jihad El Eid.

"Computers have minds of their own," El Eid said...

As a result of the holiday glitch, 1,350 traffic lights went wacko.

:-)

-- By Michael Turnbell & Jean-Paul Renaud
-- From the Sun-Sentinel

:: GLITCH ::

...

:
Mon/Tues - Nov 16 -

FALLUJAH SCENE EMERGING -

* ... residents who stayed on through last week's offensive were emerging and telling harrowing tales of the brutality they endured.

Flyposters still litter the walls bearing all manner of decrees from insurgent commanders, to be heeded on pain of death...

Another poster in the ruins of the souk bears testament to the strict brand of Sunni Islam imposed by the council, fronted by hardline cleric Abdullah Junabi.*

:: Times Online - Fallujah ::


*From this city, they have terrorised the local population and spread murder across the country. They have blown up women and children and executed in cold blood fellow Iraqis trying to end the lawlessness in our country...

The people of Falluja do not support these men of violence. They want rid of them and have been pleading for the interim government to free them... *

By Dr Barham Salih,
deputy prime minister of Iraq

:: From The UK Guardian ::

...

:
Mon - Nov 15 -

MASSAD'S JEWISH PROBLEM -

This is in response to an essay presentation by Prof Joseph Massad of Columbia University called Intimidating Columbia University which has been published at Al Ahram and on the professor's website. The essay presents "his side of the story" involving a recent controversy in which he has become embroiled. I have not seen the film mentioned; my remarks are in reaction solely to his essay.

* * * * *

Prof Massad believes that the controversy came about because his criticism of Israel was equated with anti-Semitism, but further down in his essay, we encounter a notorious Nazi locution, "the Jewish Question." Using famous phrases closely associated with the Nazis is apt to be a lightening rod inviting hostile reactions. So, no surprises here.

What is "the Jewish Question?"

It is: Are the Jews a true Volk?

This question, a Nazi classic, was long debated by Nazi ideologues. According to their theories, in order to qualify as a true Volk, a group would have to demonstrate they have a group soul or Geist. The problem is: there is no such thing as a Volk; it was just a Nazi concept, an abstract idea, an intellectual construct which has been since discredited.

[For further information about this topic, refer to the published work of Prof George L. Mosse which is heavily documented with abundant citations.]

What are the Jews? The Jews are a Faith Community.

Massad goes on to say that he links the Palestinian Question to the Jewish Question. Then, what are the Palestinians? They're not a Volk because there is no such thing. The Philistines were a Tribal Identity. Thus, Massad wants to link a Faith Community with a Tribal Identity and somehow equate the two. That's like linking apples and oranges. Moreover, there are numerous tribes living in Israel as well as in the other Middle Eastern countries. And not all tribes have their own country.

Massad contends that the Jewish Question persists because anti-Semitism persists. I would argue that there is no such thing as the Jewish Question, and that this locution persists because Nazism persists.

Justice Robert Jackson, I believe, commented on this locution when he explained that there was no such thing as the Polish Question. It never existed in reality; but the Nazis concocted it as a pretext to invade Poland and kill Polish people. In other words, it was just a fabricated figleaf used to justify criminal behavior or anti-social aggression against Polish people.

The crux of the underlying conflict between Israel and the PLO is: Jewish Autonomy.

The purpose of Zionism was to establish a place for Jewish Autonomy. And the State of Israel was established for that purpose.

The PLO is an irredentist organization. They aim to capture all of the Palestine Mandate Territory and control that state. Their aim is in direct conflict with the purpose for which the State of Israel was established because it would vitiate Jewish Autonomy.

If the UN were to cancel the Jewish Autonomy of Israel, they would, by extension, be cancelling the Moslem Autonomy of the State of Pakistan which was "artificially created" for the purpose of establishing a state for Moslem Autonomy in that region. Pakistan does not represent all Moslems; it is just a place where Moslems are autonomous.

* * * * *

I don't want to digress into extraneous issues, but I feel it is obligatory to comment on two points expressed by Prof Massad.

First, he asserts that Columbia University is the "most prestigious centre for Israel and Jewish studies in the country." I strongly disagree. Yeshiva University would better fit that description. Or, maybe, secondarily, Brandeis. In any case, the Presbyterians do not embody Prestige.

Let's get something straight here: I am
the expert on me.

Columbia University is sponsored by the Presbyterian Church which is an expert on: the Presbyterian Church. Not the Jews. I take great offense at this.

Moreover, the Presbyterian Church has never been especially friendly to Jews in my lifetime, and I have seen no recent changes in that regard. I could go further in this vein but, for the sake of civility, I won't.

The second point I can't let pass without comment is Prof Massad's blanket smear of the Baptists. The Baptists as a whole are not anti-Semitic. Nor are they monolithic. There are at least three Baptist Conventions or groups I know of. Only one of these groups has a stated policy of converting Jews. Two of the three groups are friendly to and supportive of Jews.

The Baptists believe in the Bible. They believe it is a violation of their religious faith as Christians to be anti-Semitic. And in recent years they have even added some Jewish customs such as Passover seders to feel closer to Jesus and his people. The Baptists believe in the religious dictum: "Those who bless the Jews will be blessed; and those who curse the Jews will be cursed." They believe they have a religious responsibility to the Jews. This is not a conspiracy.

* * * * *

My first suggestion is that Prof Massad's course should be refocused on his area of expertise: the culture, customs and politics of the Palestinian people.

He doesn't seem to understand the ground of the debate or crux of the conflict between the PLO and the Jewish State. So, let's skip that. I would like to believe he does know more about the Philistine Tribe or Palestinian people which is a worthwhile topic in itself. Let's concentrate on his strengths.

Second, Prof Massad needs to understand that the use of infamous Nazi terminology (like "the Jewish Question") is incendiary and consequently should be avoided. It's not a Chick Magnet.

I am not trying to silence Prof Massad. In general, I am an active supporter of FA/FOE.

But I am not an Absolutist. We live in a complex society often in context with Competing Rights. Your Right of Expression does not exist in a solitary vacuum. Thus, your right to swing your arm extends to the tip of your neighbor's nose. Sometimes, we need to negotiate so we can all coexist together peacefully.

...

:
Mon/Tues - Nov 9 -

TWO PERSPECTIVES ON FALLUJAH -

*Iraqi government television has repeatedly broadcast confessions of what it says are foreign terrorists who allegedly infiltrated the country's porous borders to fight U.S.-led forces.*

:: From article posted at Rantburg ::

* * * * *

*The BBC spoke by phone to Fadhil Badrani, a journalist in Falluja who reports for the BBC World Service in Arabic.*

:: Eyewitness in Fallujah ::

...

:
Mon - Nov 8 -

BLACK WATCH DISPATCH -

*In the early hours of yesterday, guided only by the night vision goggles strapped to their helmets, a company of Black Watch soldiers walked silently through the desert hoping for a small success story at the end of a grim week..*

-- From Richard Lloyd Parry in Camp Dogwood --

[This pool dispatch was compiled under Ministry of Defence restrictions]

:: As dawn breaks... ::

* * * * *

MEANWHILE . . .

Riverbend's family is hosting some folks who left Fallujah.

*'Umm Ahmed and her lovely children are here until things are better in Falloojeh,' my aunt declared.*

:: Some Terrorists... ::

* * * * *

AND FROM SOME IVORY TOWER . . .

*Now the camp's dream-like unreality is distorting every news report filed on the preparations for the onslaught on Falluja. We don't know, and won't know, anything about what happens in the next few days except for what the US military authorities choose to let us know. It's long since been too dangerous for journalists to move around unless they are embedded with the US forces. There is almost no contact left with civilians still in Falluja, the only information is from those who have left.*


+ I'm sure that if you have a little patience, people will eventually communicate and describe their experiences to us over this new-fangled thang called the Internet.

I mean, doesn't this woman seem oddly disconnected from the current information technology?

There has been military censorship as far back as I can remember, even during WWII.

-- From Madeleine Bunting at The UK Guardian --

:: Screams will not be heard ::

...

:
Fri/Sat - Nov 6 -

YOU CAN'T SAY THAT ! -

The recent terrorism in The Netherlands
is being monitored by the Dutch blog Zacht Ei.

An exerpt from that blog follows:


** ... there's a radical Islamist hit list
which contains the names of other
prominent Dutch that should fear for their lives.

They are:

+ Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Dutch M.P.,
..... a former Muslim and a vocal critic of radical Islam;
+ Geert Wilders, Dutch M.P., also critical of radical Islam;
+ Rita Verdonk, secretary of Immigration;
+ Job Cohen, the Jewish mayor of Amsterdam;
+ Ahmed Aboutaleb, Moroccan vice mayor of Amsterdam;
+ Frits Barend, left-wing talk show host. **


I don't seem to be able to find any permalinks on that blog, so here is the General URL Address for it:

:: ZACHT EI ::
-- via BuzzMachine --

...

:
Fri - Nov 5 -

ARAFAT TREASURE HUNT -

*Suha Arafat, wife of ailing Yasser Arafat, requested her husband this week draft a will leaving his multimillion dollar fortune to her, but Arafat refused, a Palestinian source told WorldNetDaily.*


:: WND - THE WILL ::
-- From a story by Aaaron Klein --

...

:
Thurs/Fri - Nov 5 -

ARAFAT - "DEJA DIED OR DYING?"

*The issue of the transfer of the body is one of the reasons which is delaying this process [pulling the plug]. According to the rules of Islam, the burial must take place as quickly as possible after the announcement of death. Whereas the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, publicly opposes a Jerusalem destination for Arafat, negotiations, in which France does not play any role, are going on... with the Palestinian leaders trying to convince Israel that a refusal to receive Arafat's remains could be more detrimental than beneficial to the Hebrew State.*

A Kind of Google-ish Translation
From Liberation of a report
By Helene Despic-popovic - LINK:

Translated version of http://www.liberation.fr/page.php?Article=251620

* * * * *

But what if . . .
the ancient Romans had had helicopters?

There is a genre of science fiction called Alternate Universe, Alternate History or Alternate Worlds.

And so, the following is merely one hypothetical scenario of what's going to happen:

Arafat dies. Upon the announcement of his death, PM Sharon refuses to allow Arafat's remains to be interred in Jerusalem.

Sheikh Tantawi in Egypt announces that in Arafat's absence, Al-Aksa Mosque is completely unprotected and vulnerable to the ravages of the "Monkey Israelis." He exhorts the Arabs in surrounding countries to rush to Jerusalem in order to protect the mosque.

As a result of Tantawi's hortatory rant, thousands of Arabs converge on Jersualem.

The fragile and crumbling old building, unable to withstand the tumultuous crowds, collapses, crushing and killing thousands of Arabs. And then cholera breaks out among them . . .


No? Then what do you predict will happen?
Can you construct a probable scenario that will unfold?

If the scenario which I described above unfolds, do you think Tantawi would ever be indicted for Mass Murder? Would he be held accountable at all for the resultant death toll? Would he resign or be removed from his position?

What do you think will happen?

...

:
Thurs/Fri - Nov 5 -

A CALIPH CHAT POSTSCRIPT -

I had wanted to comment further on Bin Ladin's video address, but the hour grew late, and I grew too tired, so I gave up.

I think Bin Ladin's "explanation" for how and why the WTC Twin Towers were selected as targets was disingenuous. I don't mean that he was lying. I mean that I don't "buy" his version of the process which he gave us. I had a much different sense of it because: I know what I saw. And regardless of what Bin Ladin says now, there is very little possibility that he could persuade me that I didn't see what I know I saw.

When I witnessed the second jumbo jet bash into the WTC building (on live TV), my immediate reaction was that Muslims must have done this. I initially attributed the act to the group which had demonstrated in Manhattan against Salman Rushdie, burning him in effigy and rioting in the streets. I was wrong about which specific Muslim group had done it. But my visceral sense that Muslims had done this was correct. What was it based on?

The event intensely evoked the image for me of a religious ritual central to Islam: stoning the Devil, although I realized that this behavior could not be of a religious nature. What, then, was it?

I was convinced from first sight of it that I was witnessing the commission of an act of Ritual Magic. And, I knew, the FBI has an established profile of those who commit crimes involving acts of Ritual Magic. What does this profile tell us?

The subjects tend to be, predominantly, adolescent or post-adolescent boys. And they tend to come from chaotic and unstable home environments which are out of their control. Part of the cause for this genre of behavior, the experts tell us, is a misguided but desperate attempt to gain control over their world.

Do the perpetrators of this atrocity match the already established profile? Yes, they do.

But if this act was supposed to "bankrupt the US," this magic could not be effective. It simply shows a complete lack of understanding of the American system. The mysterious "magic" of American prosperity is not in the buildings here. Its source is in the Freedom here.

Then Bin Ladin made a point of saying that he and his pals do not hate Freedom. Maybe not directly. But they obviously hate what that Freedom produces: Creativity, Abundance, and Prosperity.

And this is their fatal character flaw-- this twisted envy. Because it is an acknowledgement of their own inadequacy. What do they produce? In this act they are admitting that they produce nothing. But whose fault is that?

Do you think that Atta was suppressed? Or that he lacked opportunity? He could have designed and built beautiful buildings in the Middle East. Unfortunately, he was just too screwed up to accomplish that. And then he fell in love with Bin Ladin who gave him an excuse and rationalization for destroying instead of building. It was a sick chemistry Atta became addicted to so that he could avoid responsibility for his own life.

What a pathetic waste he turned his life into! All his cultivated potential was ultimately scraped from the streets and gutters in bits and shreds.

And you know the rest.

...

:
Wed/Thurs - Nov 4 -

CALIPH FROM A DISTANT PLANET -

Saturday Night Live TV Show did a satirical spoof "translation" of Osama Bin Ladin's little "fireside chat" with us, which, I can only hope, gets circulated around the souks in the Gulf and around the Khyber Pass because I wish I could see Osama's reaction to it :-)

His narrative about the American Election, I thought, showed only a very simple-minded understanding of it.

And his use of a term which I associate with the Ottoman Empire made me feel like he regarded me as one of his subjects :-(

:: Uncle Osama's chatty-poo ::

* * *

Did the Arab Terrorist Factor have any influence in this set of elections? Locally in Florida, TV commercials used in a Senate race may have played a role in the contest.

*More importantly, Martinez's victory comes after achieving two major campaign accomplishments: He made his own life story a central theme, and he used harshly negative attack ads to derail Castor's campaign for months...

While the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee launched blistering attacks on Castor's handling of an alleged terrorist at a state university she headed, Martinez spent millions of dollars from his own campaign account focusing on his storybook biography, which included his flight from Fidel Castro's Cuba at age 15 and his early years in this country with foster parents in Orlando...*

:: Martinez Victory ::

...

:
Mon/Tues - Nov 2 -

G. GOES TO SCHOOL IN SADR CITY -

*He says the madrasas help the kids in these huge slums. They stop them becoming street waifs...

'From religion comes all knowledge,' the schoolmaster adds while fiddling with his beard.*


:: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad - Tigris Tales ::
-- At The UK Guardian --

...

:
Mon/Tues - Nov 2 -

DISTAFF MIDDLE EAST -

Would-Be Masterminds -

*Over 2,500 Muslim intellectuals from 23 countries have signed a petition to the United Nations calling for an international treaty to ban the use of religion for incitement to violence. It also calls on the Security Council to set up a tribunal to try "the theologians of terror."*

:: From a Qatari Gal ::

* * *

Another Baghdad Diary -

*In August CJR asked Farnaz Fassihi, The Wall Street Journal’s Middle East correspondent, to keep a journal of her life in Iraq, where she had been since before the war, and where reporters were finding it difficult to do their job.*

:: From CJR ::

...