Sabbah Report » News You Can Do Without

Tony Blair is godfather to Rupert Murdoch’s daughter

SR Editor — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:27:05 +0000

How Tony Blair was taken into the Murdoch family fold

Wendi Deng reveals link in a magazine interview where she describes the ex-PM as one of her husband's 'closest friends'

By Dan Sabbagh * (The Guardian, Monday 5 September 2011) | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz

Tony Blair and Rupert Murdoch

It was a relationship that began in political controversy but progressed to a secret family union: Tony Blair, it was revealed , is godfather to Rupert Murdoch's nine-year-old daughter, Grace, the second youngest of his six children.

In a culmination of 15 years of political intimacy, the former Labour prime minister was present at the star-studded baptism of the child on the banks of the Jordan, at the spot where Jesus is said to have undergone the same ceremony, according to an article in Vogue magazine.

With the Murdochs and their children dressed in white – and present at the invitation of Queen Rania of Jordan – the event was photographed in Hello! magazine, complete with an ethereal front cover image of a smiling Murdoch in an open-necked shirt.

But no mention was made of Blair's participation, which was revealed only in a rare interview by Murdoch's wife, Wendi Deng, in a forthcoming edition of Vogue.

Although she has traditionally kept a low profile, Deng's interview comes after she catapulted herself into the public spotlight by leaping from a chair to lash out at a foam-pie thrower who attempted to target Murdoch during his questioning before the Commons culture, media and sport committee in July.

In the Vogue article the former Labour leader, is described as "one of Murdoch's closest friends".

Wendi Deng and daughter Grace.

Murdoch's company, News Corporation, confirmed the longstanding link between the two men, although it is not known when Murdoch asked Blair to act as a godparent and how far this predated the actual baptism.

Grace was baptised a few weeks before Easter of 2010, and therefore shortly before the last general election.

When the Jordanian baptism was originally reported by Hello!, it noted that actors Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, both friends of the Murdochs, were godparents to Grace and her sister Chloe.

The involvement of Blair was admitted by Deng in the interview shortly before her husband flew to London to deal with the phone-hacking crisis in the wake of revelations that the News of the World had targeted the mobile phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

Deng, who said she was not sleeping because of the stress of dealing with the phone-hacking affair, added in the interview: "Of course, as Rupert's wife, I think it's unfair on him to be going through this. I worry about him being alone. He has no PR people advising him. He tells me not to come but I'm flying to London for the hearing. I want to be with him."

In July it was reported that Blair rang Gordon Brown to ask him to tell his friend and ally, the Labour MP Tom Watson, to lay off attacking News Corporation over the phone-hacking issue. Brown is thought to have refused the request, although neither Blair nor Brown has confirmed such a conversation took place.

A spokesman for Blair last night declined to comment on the godfather link.

Blair's wooing of Murdoch dates to 1995, when the leader of the opposition provoked a political row by accepting an invitation to address a News Corporation conference on Hayman Island, Australia, in July of that year. Labour under Neil Kinnock had previously been demonised in Murdoch's Sun, to the point where some believed the tabloid's opposition had cost the party the 1992 election.

When Blair opted to attend, he justified the decision to his spokesman, Alastair Campbell, that "not to go was to say carry on and do your worst, and we knew their worst was very bad indeed," according to his memoirs. "It seems obvious," he added in his book, A Journey. "The country's most powerful newspaper proprietor, whose publications have hitherto been rancorous in their opposition to the Labour party, invites us into the lion's den. You go, don't you?" Blair also noted that Paul Keating, then Australia PM, felt Murdoch was "a bastard, but one you could deal with".

The would-be PM's performance at the News Corp event was seen as a clear sign that Labour was becoming electable – and marked the beginning of a long, close friendship between the two men.

Labour benefited from the loyal support of Murdoch newspapers, with the Sun switching from Conservative to Labour in the run-up to the 1997 election, and the Times dropping the Conservatives in 1997 and endorsing Labour in 2001. Meanwhile, Labour placed few restrictions on the operation of either News Corp's newspapers or BSkyB, in which News Corp owned a 39.1% stake, during its time in office.

Support from the Murdoch titles intensified at the time of the Iraq war, and Murdoch and Blair were in close contact through Blair's premiership, speaking, for example, on the phone three times in the nine days before the Iraq war. Information released by No 10 under freedom of information rules also showed the pair spoke on the day the Hutton report into the death of Dr David Kelly was published.

By the end of his premiership, Blair wrote of Murdoch in his memoirs that he "came to have a grudging respect and even a liking for him". He added: "He was hard, no doubt. He was rightwing. I did not share or like his attitudes on Europe, social policy or on issues like gay rights, but there were two points of connection: he was an outsider and he had balls."

* Dan Sabbagh is the Guardian's head of media and technology

Ship Of Fools – False Flags On The High Seas

SR Editor — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:37:43 +0000

By Steve Amsel * | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz

Did you hear about the 'kidnapping' of passengers on a Flotilla to Gaza? Did you hear about 'ransom demands' by the 'captain' of the ship?

NO???

Just what I thought.... you know why? It's all BS!

Nothing but a cheap and slimy way to get the attention of the press... but it does not seem to be working.

The entire 'drama' seems to have been unfolded on FaceBook of all places. The 'actors' on board the ship were strongly advised by responsible activists not to disseminate false information to the press.... but this was met by the stubborn continuation of same.

The first report of the 'incident' was in the Guardian... BUT that is NOT the Guardian that we are all acquainted with, it appears to be nothing but a cheap supermarket tabloid. The only mention of this in the Palestinian press was THIS Ma'an report. The Israeli press would jump on this story to discredit the Movement if there was any validity to it.... but it didn't. Just THIS report from YNet which echoes the others... THIS Reuters report appeared in HaAretz.... same as the other. Ask yourselves why it's not headline news in the press here...
BBC News aired the 'story' ..... listen to it carefully...

Now, let me ask you a few questions...

Do you think that a 'reliable' shipping company would not take money in advance for such a mission? With all the problems the past Flotillas have had with piracy and thievery, do you think this shipping company would risk holding that amount of cash on board, in the pocket of the 'captain' risking it being stolen by the Israelis?

I THINK NOT....

Would YOU board a ship that is potentially unsafe knowing there is a good chance of it being rammed or hijacked by the Israeli Navy?

I THINK NOT!

The Movement to Free Gaza has many enemies, most notably the Israeli government. WE DO NOT NEED ENEMIES WITHIN THE MOVEMENT!
We do not need grand standers or people with 'Rambo' complexes. We need Humanitarian Aid!
We need medicines, we need building materials, we need hospital equipment!!

We need to see an end to the siege of Gaza NOW!!!
If you are joining an Aid Flotilla for the adventure of it or to discredit the Movement, stay home!
If you have a martyr complex and want your name in the headlines, stay home!

Don't rely on the commercial media or FaceBook to get the truth about ANYTHING, especially not about aid to Gaza. That's what we are here for .... honest reporting and integrity!

UPDATE 1: Not only did the foul deeds committed on this ship not get the press attention they wanted... it is actually backfiring on them as their lies are exposed... BY THE VERY PRESS THEY HOPED WOULD HELP THEM...

Two Reports, both worth reading are linked here:

Gaza activists willingly on ship from Libya-ship manager
Activists tried to hijack ship to Gaza: owners

Not only is this a ship of fools, they think we all are fool enough to believe their saga at sea… Perhaps they can sell their story to the Enquirer.

* Steve Amsel is a Jewish active peace and civil rights worker living in Israel. He can be reached at manopeace@gmail.com

Fireworks Light Up Dubai as Gaza Sleeps in Darkness

SR Editor — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:39:41 +0000

By Nadia W. Awad

Dubai was the center of attention again last week as it spent $20 million on an exorbitantly lavish, all-night party to celebrate the opening of its latest hotel, the Atlantis Palm Jumeirah. Described as the party of the decade, no expense was spared. Two thousand celebrities accepted an all-expenses-paid invitation to join the celebrations, with Hollywood stars such as Robert de Niro, Lindsay Lohan, Wesley Snipes, and at least one Olsen twin found sipping Dom PÃ©rignon with Dubai's royal family. Kylie Minogue was paid somewhere in the region of $1 and $3.5 million for a 45 minute performance, followed by DJ Sam Ronson and others. The 1,539 room hotel boasts the exclusive Bridge Suite, which alone costs $35,000 per night to stay in. We all know the Chinese like to do things big, but the fireworks display at the Beijing Olympics was dwarfed by the Atlantis's display, which was seven times the size of the Beijing show and could apparently be seen quite clearly from space.

$20m firework party of Dubai

But before you start wondering whether you've wandered onto the wrong site or are reading an article from The Insider, rest assured - this descriptive introduction does have a point! I don't believe I was the only person to read about the party and its copious expense without thinking that the timing of the whole event was in very poor taste. As I read a description of the elaborate fireworks display, I couldn't help but consider the 1.5 million Palestinians living in darkness in Gaza, courtesy of an Israeli blockade on food, fuel and medical supplies- 20 days and counting so far. Meanwhile, the world is sinking deeper into a global financial crisis which Dubai seems to be in denial of; millions of people have and will lose their jobs; and military and humanitarian crises are still ongoing in places like Darfur, Iraq, DR Congo and Zimbabwe. Not to mention the 2,000 or so flights to Dubai for the A-list celebrities that probably chipped off a little more from our melting polar icecaps. Still, there was no evidence of concern as tycoons and celebrities streamed into Dubai for what was reportedly the world's most expensive private party. In true capitalist style, the rich have once again found a way to â€˜party as the world burns'.

However, this article is not a criticism of capitalism, or the activities of the world's rich. There are plenty of other people who are better adept at doing that job. Rather, my argument is with Dubai itself, as an emirate of the UAE and a member of the Arab and Muslim world. There is no denying that Dubai, along with the other emirates, has given millions in aid to the Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority, for which Palestinians are ever grateful. There is even a section of Gaza named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late ruler of Abu Dhabi, who funded the construction of housing units there. Nevertheless, there is more than one type of support that can be given. Unfortunately, Dubai usually resorts to what it does best - it throws money at a problem, just as it has thrown money to the Palestinian people. When it comes to moral and political support, it is less forthcoming. While we are aware that the original residents of Dubai support the Palestinian cause, we rarely hear their government take a controversial stance on it. True, like most other Arab and Muslim nations, Dubai does not have diplomatic or political relations with Israel. However, it has relations of another kind. In this regard, the name Lev Leviev comes to mind.

Earlier this year, controversy erupted when Dubai announced it had allowed the diamond magnate, Lev Leviev, to open two retail stores in the Gulf emirate, including one just opened in the Atlantis. What it did not announce was that Lev Leviev is an Israeli billionaire and a major funder of illegal settlement construction in the Palestinian Territories, including infamous settlements such as Har Homa and Maale Adumim. Two of his companies, Africa-Israel and Leader Management & Development, as well as several other subsidiaries such as Danya Cebus, have been primary forces in the displacement of Palestinian villagers from their lands in the West Bank. Leviev is also a major donor to the Israeli Land Redemption Fund, which is known to use illicit means to obtain Palestinian land for Israeli settlements. Granted, the Dubai authorities initially displayed an unwillingness to award the Israeli billionaire a license to do business in Dubai; but apparently those feelings of reluctance were dispelled when Leviev used American and European connections to persuade Dubai officials otherwise.

To donate millions of dollars in assistance to the Palestinians and then to profit from business dealings with a primary funder of Palestinian land theft is hypocrisy at its best. The lavish hotel opening last week was just another example of Dubai's lack of tact and sensitivity. The Atlantis itself is owned by Solomon Kerzner, a South African billionaire, but the cost of the party was split between him and the Dubai government-owned Nakheel PJSC, also a developer of the hotel. Perhaps business is merely that, business. But in the heart of the Middle East, it would have behooved Dubai to express a little solidarity with the suffering of its fellow Arabs, the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, perhaps by donating some of the firework display funds to purchase fuel for Gaza's power plant, or by having a moment of silence. Or perhaps by kicking Leviev out of the emirate, or at least, putting pressure on him to refrain from illegal settlement building. Big business is not the only goal in life.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband infuriated the Israeli government when he informed them of his intention to press for EU tariffs to be imposed on produce and products coming from Israeli settlements. Londoners demonstrated outside a large supermarket to bring attention to the fact that produce coming from the illegal settlements is being sold in Britain under the misleading â€˜West Bank' label. On the other hand, Dubai, who has more in common with us historically, geographically, culturally and religiously, is helping to bankroll a major Israeli settlement builder, indirectly causing untold misery for Palestinians. Dubai is not the first Arab state to have business dealings with Israelis, nor is it likely to be the last; but to have dealings with such a man as Leviev helps to undermine efforts to stop illegal settlement construction. As one Palestinian official in Gaza said, "We never imagined that a day would come when we would have to appeal to an Arab country to refrain from harming us and undermining our cause."

Palestinian children living in darkness as Israel block fuel deliveries.

To say Palestinians feel a bit betrayed is an understatement. We definitely need humanitarian aid, but more importantly, we also need Arab and other international nations to stand by us morally and politically, shoulder to shoulder, in the face of an ever-worsening Israeli occupation. And as always, actions speak louder than words.

Now, a kilometre-high tower in Dubai

Haitham Sabbah — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:01:25 +0000

Even as the Burj Dubai, touted to become the world's tallest building nears completion, plans have been announced for a new kilometre-high tower in Dubai - UAE. The project, inspired by Islamic design and geometry, will be located at the upcoming New Dubai development area near Jebel Ali.

At the core of the Nakheel Harbour & Tower development will come up a tower more than a kilometre high and the world's only inner city harbour. The development will cover an area of more than 270 hectares and become home to more than 55,000 people, a workplace for 45,000 more and attract millions of visitors each year.

Nakheel Tower will have four individual towers within a single structure. A distinctive crescent-shaped podium encircles the base and complements its remarkable height.

The Nakheel Tower is supposed to be finished in 10 years. Until then Dubai already has currently the tallest building with the Burj Dubai which reached 707m in September. It is still under construction.
More details on Nakheel site.

Dubai: Vertical City, 2.4 km (1.5 miles) Tall

Haitham Sabbah — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:21:34 +0000

If you think you have seen it all, think again and watch this.

The following article was published on Khaleej Times, 10th Sept.

Dubai - Stretching its six intertwining building components into a tower 2.4 kilometres high, Dubai City Tower is expected to be the latest architectural vision to capture the attention of citizens.

The â€˜Vertical City', as it is described, is an architect's proposal that began circulating in emails and at a skycraper forum last week, but its origins are yet to be determined.

The professional project pitch details 400 habitable stories, topped by a 400m energy-producing spire, making it 2.4km high.

By comparison, Emaar's Burj Dubai is largely predicted to be around 800m high and 160 floors.

A "mile-high tower" in Jeddah has been planned by Kingdom Holdings, while Nakheel is building Al Burj, which, according to project sources, will have a final height of 1.28km, although the developer is keeping the details under wraps.

Blueprint of the project (click thumbnail to enlarge):

But neither an architect nor a developer detailed on the plans for the Dubai City Tower. Major developers Emaar, Nakheel, Dubai Properties and Damac categorically denied to Khaleej Times any involvement or awareness of the project.

However, the proposal of such an engineering feat is indicative of the environment of possibilities Dubai has created for tall towers, according to Steven Oehme, Regional Director of Value Management and Sustainability at Hyder Consulting Middle East.

"It is certainly possible," Oehme said. "You can't just use today's technology, but it can be planned and the possibilities are there. Fifteen years ago, there was nothing even half the height of the Burj Dubai."

The time frame from drawing board to construction and completion for such developments, in this case termed a super-tall skyscraper, often banks on future technologies.

A "Mega-city Pyramid" proposed for Tokyo Bay in Japan needs a structure of incredibly strong, light materials still being developed.

While Burj Dubai is expected to be completed in September 2009, five years after the construction started, the one-kilometre-high tower Mubarak Al Kabir in Kuwait is estimated to take 25 years to complete since its announcement was made last year.

Oehme said the flurry of architect proposals, and buildings under construction, could speed up technology and encourage more investment in tall towers.

"People didn't really see the significance of building that tall," he said.

"There wasn't an environment that supported a building that tall. The Petronas Towers in Malaysia changed all that."

They held the mantle for nearly a decade."

Now, in the Gulf region, Burj Dubai is a year from completion. Khaleej Times has learnt Al Burj plans are being finalised and recently Timelinks announced plans for the Ziggurat, a 1.2-kilometre-high pyramid city to house one million people.

Oehme said the feasibility of a project like Dubai City Tower was highly technical and wondered how many of the proposals would materialise.

"It's not just a matter of scaling things up. Every factor has to be considered.Â In ten years there could be two or three tall towers in the region or there could be 20 or 30. But now, our understanding of tall towers is enormous," Oehme said.

Via: Khaleej Times

Shameless in Ramallah

Khalid Amayreh — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:28:04 +0000

In order to obtain a certificate of good conduct from Israel and her guardian-ally, the United States, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) is betraying the very people it claims to represent and its enduring national cause in ways unprecedented in living memory.

This scandalous betrayal assumes many forms, including brazen "security coordination" with the occupation army, arresting and torturing political opponents on Israel's behalf and tacitly encouraging Israel to close down or seize Islamic-oriented orphanages and boarding schools in Hebron.

It is also widely believed that there is a deep collusion between Israel and the PA in maintaining and even tightening the year-long hermetic blockade Israel is imposing on Gaza, which has killed hundreds of people and pushed the estimated 1.5 million inhabitants of the coastal enclave to the brink of famine.

Former President Jimmy Carter and Rev. Desmond Tutu recently used strong words to describe the outrageous situation in Gaza.

The former Archbishop of Cape Town denounced the international community for its "silence and complicity," saying the situation in Gaza "shames us all." And President Carter called the nefarious blockade " a horrible crime."

It is really lamentable that not only the international community, including, disgracefully enough, key Arab states, is silent in the face of the Gaza outrage.

The PA, too, is actively conspiring to keep up the Nazi-like siege on Gaza while at the same time making strident public statements denouncing the blockade. This proves, if proof were needed, that PA hatred of Hamas exceeds by far whatever alleged concern the PA may have for the survival and welfare of the people of Gaza.

But, in any case, it is not important what the PA says; what is important is what it does, and what its does amounts to a national betrayal of Palestine and the Palestinians.

Indeed, while the thuggish Israeli army was unceasingly murdering droves of innocent Palestinians in Gaza and cutting off power and basic consumer products from its badly-starved and harshly-tormented inhabitants, the PA continued to have business as usual with Israel as if the relationship between the occupiers and their victims was supposed to be based on cordiality and altruistic love.

In fact, PA leaders continued to meet and exchange kisses with the leaders of the very state whose murderous army never stopped killing Palestinian children and women on daily basis. The last of such meetings took place at the time of writing this piece.

PA leaders may argue that "engaging" Israeli leaders is necessary to guarantee vital Palestinian interests. This is the very same argument that the heads of the Jewish councils under the Nazis (the Judenrate) made to justify their treachery and betrayal of their people.

But what Palestinian interests are being guaranteed? Doesn't Israel continue to steal more Palestinian land in order to build thereon more Jewish settler units? And how about the recent Israeli decision to demolish thousands of Palestinian homes? Or the phenomenal expansion of Jewish-only settlements in Jerusalem? Besides, has PA pandering to the Olmert government succeeded in getting the Israeli army to remove even one roadblock in the West Bank? Or maybe the PA is trying to rescue Olmert from his latest corruption scandal by "not asking him for too much"?

To be sure, PA officials do make routine statements voicing displeasure with the theft of Palestinian land and building of settlements. However, Israel, and even the Palestinian officials themselves, seem to realize that these idle statements are only for media consumption.

Well, if the PA is truly opposed to Israeli crimes, including the unrelenting settlement expansion, why is it giving the impression that there is no crisis facing the ongoing talks with Israel?

And why did the PA invite Israeli officials, including former cabinet ministers, to the Bethlehem Investment Conference last week? And why do PA security agencies continue to arrest and harass critics of the Israeli occupation on Israel's behalf?

Today, the real decision-maker in the PA is not really Mahmoud Abbas or his de-facto Prime Minister Salam Fayyadh. Unfortunately, the final say lies with an American General called Keith Dayton, the very man who last year sought unsuccessfully to ignite a Palestinian civil war in Gaza that could have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. Interestingly, this Dayton reports directly to hardcore Zionist neocon called Elliot Abrams who on several occasions indicated that his ultimate goal was to morph the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into an inter-Palestinian civil war.

It is Dayton who calls the shots and issues the instructions and decides who receives a salary and who doesn't. It is Dayton who decides who remains in his job and who is fired. It is Dayton who provides the PA with Israeli-supplied lists of Palestinians who ought to be arrested because they pose a threat to Israel's security and therefore to the peace process. It is Dayton who routinely visits Palestinian cities to be briefed on the security clampdown on the Palestinian opposition.

Dayton is actually the real head of the Palestinian Authority.

We are not talking here merely about Hamas sympathizers. There are hundreds of non-Islamist activists, including many Fatah-affiliated young men who are being detained in PA jails on no ground other than meeting Israeli demands to that effect.

On Monday, 2 June, three of these detainees tried to commit suicide by drinking shampoo liquids, to protest their nightmare.

Of course, PA subservience to the whims of the Bush administration goes further beyond coordinating with the Israeli occupation army against the vital national interests of the Palestinian people.

Being at Washington's beck and call, the PA is actually not free to restore Palestinian national unity by seeking a rapprochement with Hamas.

In recent weeks, many independent Palestinian figures made strenuous efforts to reconcile Fatah and Hamas. However, the Fatah leadership, especially Abbas, has adamantly rejected all efforts to that effect, insisting that Hamas first terminate its "coup" against "Palestinian legitimacy." (In truth Hamas carried out a counter-coup to preempt a coup-in-the-making which was to be carried out by well-known CIA agents against the democratically-elected government led by Hamas).

Interestingly, it is clear that while the PA is meticulously working with the Israeli army to repress any active resistance to the occupation in the West Bank, the Fatah leadership is also trying desperately to thwart any prospective ceasefire in Gaza . This is done mainly by instructing the group's supporters to fire home-made rockets onto Israeli settlements in order to demonstrate that Hamas can't enforce a ceasefire.

The nearly daily rocket-firing by Fatah in Gaza is also aimed at giving Israel a pretext to invade and overrun Gaza and murder hundreds or thousands of Gazans, presumably including the leaders of Hamas, so that Gaza would be handed over anew to Abbas and Muhammed Dahlan on a silver platter.

Isn't this really disgraceful?

Piss On Bush!

Haitham Sabbah — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:37:56 +0000

I fell off my chair laughing and could not believe my eyes when I saw this funny picture:

Don't you just feel like doing it.... NOW :)

Well, this is not the first time I come across some of this "art". It actually reminds me of a Belgian one few years ago. This website report from Brussels about a urinal sticker with a picture of George W. Bush and the American flag and a caption which reads "Go ahead. Piss on me."

That sticker was actually designed by a Laurent Winnnock, a young man who worked for Belgium's vice prime minister.

Of course America already has its own piss-on-Bush urinal sticker. You can find it for sale at a place called stickergiant.com. Here is a sample:

Back to our new urinal sticker, it looks to be from some Arabian country, specially that you can see the Palestinian flag on the side. Maybe somewhere in Occupied Palestine, or Syria, or Iraq, even Iran, as the Palestinian flag is used widely in all these countries (they all claim they are ready and prepared for the "liberation of Palestine" - since 1948, but they never got the chance. The best they could do is "PISS on BUSH!" :-D ).

It could be a photoshop work too... but nevertheless, I liked it ;-)

What Starvation?

Haitham Sabbah — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:22:08 +0000

This is what starvation means (for some) in the Arab world!

Now you know why half the world is starving! :-)

Terrorism and Falafel

Haitham Sabbah — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 19:28:50 +0000

One of the traits of eating FALAFEL is the possibility of getting blacklisted in America or worse accused of being a terrorist.

This news story revealed that the FBI planed to use records from San Francisco grocery stores to spot terrorists; they believed that a spike in falafel sales would lead them to secret Iranian agents.

Like Hansel and Gretel hoping to follow their bread crumbs out of the forest, the FBI sifted through customer data collected by San Francisco-area grocery stores in 2005 and 2006, hoping that sales records of Middle Eastern food would lead to Iranian terrorists.

The idea was that a spike in, say, falafel sales, combined with other data, would lead to Iranian secret agents in the south San Francisco-San Jose area.

The brainchild of top FBI counterterrorism officials Phil Mudd and Willie T. Hulon, according to well-informed sources, the project didnâ€™t last long. It was torpedoed by the head of the FBIâ€™s criminal investigations division, Michael A. Mason, who argued that putting somebody on a terrorist list for what they ate was ridiculous â€” and possibly illegal.

A check of federal court records in California did not reveal any prosecutions developed from falafel trails. [Read the rest here]

I'm just wondering if Oklahoma terrorist eat Falafel too?!

On the other hand, since Wikipedia is saying that Falafel is now a national dish of Israel; can we consider this as a possible reason behind the terrorist mentality of the Israeli occupation? Equally would be the reason all around the Levant?

Could it be that the FBI found a spike but because they were not Iranians (OTHERS - guess who) they abandon the plan?

Miss Bahrain, Miss Arab World 2007 and Stereotypes

Haitham Sabbah — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 20:49:39 +0000

I admit I have missed the news when it was announced end of last July, but better late than never.

Honored to be Bahraini by soul for living in Bahrain for the last four years, I am very happy to know that Wafaa Ganahi, a 23-year-old teacher from the Law Faculty of Bahrain University, won the title, while the first runner-up was Miss Egypt Shaimaa Mansour and Miss Lebanon Rula Bahij, 23, was the second runner-up. Out of seventeen women from 15 countries attended the final competition.

On the other hand, what does this contest and these photos tells us other than the general perceptions about such events? Well, for me they mean a lot.

First, let me congratulate Miss Arab World, Miss Bahrain. She deserved it, and this leads me to my first note. As you can see from the attached photos, Miss Bahrain is a veiled lady, which leads to the conclusion that Miss Arab World - as well miss world - does not need to be unveiled to win a beauty contest. At least in beauty standards if you agree with me that veil does not hide beauty. I know that bikini show in such beauty contests is suppose to be a standard event, which probably every male in this universe are looking for :-) but Miss Arab World, and Miss Bahrain broke this rule - if I may consider it as a rule - and won for her beauty, real beauty. Not only that, but she also received official tribute which reflects how open Bahrain is.

Second, I'm not surprised to see some unveiled beauties from the last place one can expect, such as Saudi Arabia. The girl is gorgeous, but I bet that she is on the 'top wanted list' by Saudi religious men now, not for anything related to terrorism, no, but for her unveiled beauty and daring to show up. In my terms, Miss Saudi Arabia won Miss Arab World for her braveness to participate with all what we know about how she was perceived in her home country. Most probably she lives outside Saudi and her dreams to visit her homeland vanished forever.

Third, I'm really surprised and happy to see beauties from other conservative Arab countries such as Miss Yemen and Miss Sudan. They are setting new standards along with Miss Saudi Arabia and breaking all the stereotypes that we hear day and night by the Western media. Yes, behind the Hijab's, Niqab's and Burqa's we have very pretty ladies and we are not ashamed of showing them, in a modest way. A new generation will always fight the taboos for better life.

Last but not least, as a Palestinian, I'm proud to see Miss Palestine participating in this event despite all what Palestinians and the occupied lands are going through day and night by the Israeli terrorist occupation. Unlike Miss Israel, just imagine how many crosscheck she had to pass to reach an Israeli occupied port to be able to travel to Cairo for the event. Even if she lives in Israel, her journey will be under the same rules that govern the travel all Arab and Palestinian from Israel (more humiliating example).

Alright, enough blah blah... back to business, here are some photos I gathered from different sources around the web. In no particular order, take a look at Miss Bahrain, Miss Libya, Miss Saudi Arabia, Miss Lebanon, Miss Tunisia, Miss Egypt, Miss Morocco, Miss Kuwait, Miss Iraq, Miss Jordan, Miss Syria and Miss Algeria.

(Click thumbnail to enlarge)

Saudi Arabia: Sex-segregated sidewalks and women’s car driving

Haitham Sabbah — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 20:09:03 +0000

One more brain fart by Saudi Mutaween:

Saudi Arabian religious police call for sex-segregated sidewalks - Saudi Arabia's religious police are insisting that authorities of Medina, one of Islam's holiest cities, should build separate sidewalks for women, the Kuwaiti Al-Qabas newspaper said Friday.

The country's Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV), tasked with enforcing Sharia law, believes men and women should not be allowed to mix on the streets of the Islam's second holiest place, where the Prophet Muhammad is buried.

The clerical police, or Mutaween, are authorized to arrest unrelated men and women caught socializing, anyone suspected of being homosexual or a prostitute, and to enforce Islamic dress codes.

The Mutaween enforce Islamic female dress codes, ordering women to wear headscarves and abayas, long black dresses covering the whole body except for face, hands and feet. Women are not allowed to leave their houses without their husbands or immediate male relatives.

Saudi women are also not allowed to ride a bicycle or drive a car, because if the vehicle breaks down, a woman might have to talk to an unknown male.

The police widely apply corporal punishment, including flogging, to punish suspected offenders.

One of the most widely criticized incidents, involving women rights abuse, occurred on March 11, 2002, when schoolgirls were prevented from escaping a burning school in Mecca, because they were not wearing headscarves and abayas. Fifteen girls died and 50 were injured as a result.

I'm just wondering when will these heavenly angles called "Mutaween" will disappear?!

Did prophet Mohammed ordered to have two sidewalks; one for men, another for women? It's ironic to think of having a 'women sidewalks'... I mean, how will they mark them? Paint them in pink? Maybe black to match black abayas and hope that women walking there will become invisible. For God sake, someone with courage should stop this stupidity and send these Mutaween to some true Islamic pre-school and teach them true/basic Islam rules.

On the other hand, for few weeks now, a group of Saudi women are back in the news with their everlasting "Car Driving" rights. A Saudi writer and human rights activist described it well when she said: "Cats and dogs in the developed world have more rights than Arab women," but to be more accurate she should have said "Cats and dogs in the developed world have more rights than SAUDI ARABIA women," for I belive that women in the Arab world, but Saudi, enjoys most of their rights -and sometimes better rights- than many in the 'developed world'. This lady (or group of ladies) is more interested in driving a car than having the right to breath clean air and live normally. But for them it is "something is better than nothing":

Saudi Women Petitioning Govt for Driving Rights - "We demand that the right of women to drive is given back to us," says the petition. "It's a right that was enjoyed by our mothers and grandmothers in complete freedom to (utilize) the means of transportation in those times."

The issue has been a matter of heated debate for many years. In 1990 a group of middle class women were arrested when they staged driving protests. The ban comes from a strict interpretation of the woman's need to be with a legal guardian (a mahram) in public. While this is claimed to be another "Islamic" taboo, but the fact it is not:

"Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah said previously that it is not a political issue, it is a social one, and that the government does not object (to women driving)."

...which I believe is true. It is not about politics or religion, but a social matter. Therefore, I personally believe that "Saudi Women Rights Movement" (whoever that be) lacks strategic planning to win back women rights in Saudi. Driving a car is one of the rights, however is not the most critical but for these women who can afford to have a car. What about the "right to live normally"? C'mon, you can't even walk freely in the street... Ladies, you have a hell of a job to educate your society to accept you as an "equal" human being. While I agree that you should have the right to drive a car, however, I believe that will bring you more trouble than you wish and will halt any further improvement in winning more rights. What about the new "women sidewalks" that you have to march on? What about education, marriage, traveling, shopping, work, etc...

GOP lobbying firm with close ties to Bush hired to help Allawi oust Malaki

Haitham Sabbah — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 08:15:40 +0000

"The revelation that lobbying firm Barbour, Griffith and Rogers, whose president is a former US envoy to Iraq, is supporting former interim prime minister Ayad Alllawi, was first reported by IraqSlogger. The firm has sent hundreds of e-mails in Allawi's name from an e-mail address it purchased, DrAyadAllawi@Allawi-for-Iraq.com, and it has purchased the Web domain AllawiForIraq.com." (Another bill US taxpayers are footing??)

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/GOP_Lobby_firm_hired_to_oust_0823.html

[Wikipidea on Allawi: "As of January 2007, he appears to have left Iraq for the relative security of Amman and London, according to the New York Times's Damien Cave.]

Democracy according to the “behold Bush!”

Haitham Sabbah — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 09:15:44 +0000

While watching the news last night, a breaking live broadcast of Bush speech in Prague was on air. I never liked to hear this dump, but for unknown reason I decided to listen to his remarks.

While listening to him, I was speaking to myself. This is how it goes (transcript can be found here):

The most powerful weapon in the struggle against extremism is not bullets or bombs -- it is the universal appeal of freedom. Freedom is the design of our Maker, and the longing of every soul. Freedom is the best way to unleash the creativity and economic potential of a nation. Freedom is the only ordering of a society that leads to justice. And human freedom is the only way to achieve human rights.

Great, how about the freedom for Palestinian people?

For all these reasons, the United States is committed to the advance of freedom and democracy as the great alternatives to repression and radicalism...

One of those dissidents is Mamoun Homsi. In 2001, this man was an independent member of the Syrian parliament who simply issued a declaration asking the government to begin respecting human rights. For this entirely peaceful act, he was arrested and sent to jail, where he spent several years beside other innocent advocates for a free Syria...

There are many dissidents who couldn't join us because they are being unjustly imprisoned or held under house arrest. I look forward to the day when a conference like this one include Alexander Kozulin of Belarus, Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, Oscar Elias Biscet of Cuba, Father Nguyen Van Ly of Vietnam, Ayman Nour of Egypt.

How about the (I lost count) x-number of "democratically' elected Palestinian parliament members who lay in Israeli prisons with "NO CHARGES"? Last (but not least) was Dr. Nasser Ad-Din Ash-Shair, Minister of Education and many more PLC members. Why Mr. Bush and "the United States is NOT committed to the advance of freedom and democracy" of Palestinians? At least the Syrian guy knows what are his charges, but the Palestinians did not, and will not receive any charges because there aren't any.

In the eyes of America, the democratic dissidents today are the democratic leaders of tomorrow. So we're taking new steps to strengthen our support.

Wonderful. Watch out for the thousands of Palestinian democratic leaders when they come out from Israeli jails (if at all they come out).

We recently created a Human Rights Defenders Fund, which provides grants for the legal defense and medical expenses of activists arrested or beaten by repressive governments.

Does this include the Israeli government?

I strongly support the Prague Document that your conference plans to issue, which states that "the protection of human rights is critical to international peace and security."

Would someone please ask him what does "Human Rights" mean for him? If after all what they are doing in Iraq, and what Israeli is doing in Palestine; he still says that he "strongly support protection of human rights", I have a doubt that we are talking about the same human rights which "humans" but Bush knows.

People living in tyranny need to know they are not forgotten. North Koreans live in a closed society where dissent is brutally suppressed, and they are cut off from their brothers and sisters to the south. The Iranians are a great people who deserve to chart their own future, but they are denied their liberty by a handful of extremists whose pursuit of nuclear weapons prevents their country from taking its rightful place amongst the thriving. The Cubans are desperate for freedom -- and as that nation enters a period of transition, we must insist on free elections and free speech and free assembly. And in Sudan, freedom is denied and basic human rights are violated by a government that pursues genocide against its own citizens. My message to all those who suffer under tyranny is this: we will never excuse your oppressors. We will always stand for your freedom.

I was anxiously waiting and waiting and waiting to hear what he will say about Palestine, but opss... seems that I missed last night news headlines and Palestine is now living in peace and freedom alongside with Israel.

Freedom is also under assault in countries that have shown some progress. In Venezuela, elected leaders have resorted to shallow populism to dismantle democratic institutions and tighten their grip on power. The government of Uzbekistan continues to silence independent voices by jailing human rights activists. And Vietnam recently arrested and imprisoned a number of peaceful religious and political activists.

Israel. Israel. Where is Israel?

We congratulate the people of Yemen on their landmark presidential election, and the people of Kuwait on elections in which women were able to vote and run for office for the first time. We stand firmly behind the people of Lebanon and Afghanistan and Iraq as they defend their democratic gains against extremist enemies. These people are making tremendous sacrifices for liberty. They deserve the admiration of the free world, and they deserve our unwavering support.

Did anyone tell Mr. President about the Palestinian Elections? Seems not.

Some say that ending tyranny means "imposing our values" on people who do not share them, or that people live in parts of the world where freedom cannot take hold. That is refuted by the fact that every time people are given a choice, they choose freedom. We saw that when the people of Latin America turned dictatorships into democracies, and the people of South Africa replaced apartheid with a free society, and the people of Indonesia ended their long authoritarian rule. We saw it when Ukrainians in orange scarves demanded that their ballots be counted. We saw it when millions of Afghans and Iraqis defied the terrorists to elect free governments. At a polling station in Baghdad, I was struck by the words of an Iraqi -- he had one leg -- and he told a reporter, "I would have crawled here if I had to." Was democracy -- I ask the critics, was democracy imposed on that man? Was freedom a value he did not share? The truth is that the only ones who have to impose their values are the extremists and the radicals and the tyrants.

Neither it was imposed on Palestinians. Wake up Mr. President. Time is running out.

Others fear that democracy will bring dangerous forces to power, such as Hamas in the Palestinian Territories. Elections will not always turn out the way we hope. Yet democracy consists of more than a single trip to the ballot box. Democracy requires meaningful opposition parties, a vibrant civil society, a government that enforces the law and responds to the needs of its people.

Oh... finaly... here you go... show your colors.

If it "does not turn out the way we (he) hopes", it is "dangerous forces to power".

Someone please remind Mr. President that democracy comes in different sizes, not necessary his. If you really care for what all you claimed to care for, Palestinians choice should be respected, not impose sanctions, boycott and embargo, Mr. President. How can a government enforces the law when United States is arming it's opposition parties? How can a government responds to the needs of its people when your country threat anyone who deals with it? How can it function while their money is blocked and they can't even pay the salaries of the medical stuff in public hospitals?

I leave Prague with a certainty that the cause of freedom is not tired, and that its future is in the best of hands. With unbreakable faith in the power of liberty, you will inspire your people, you will lead your nations, and you will change the world.

Thanks for having me. And may God bless you.

That's it? Well, even my nine years old boy, Noor, knows that this guy is dump. How sarcastic this is. A dump man is leading United States and the world.

Can you understand now why we HATE U.S. politicians? Still not sure? Okay, here is another example.

Hardly anyone talked about it in the media, but last night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution "congratulating" Israel on the 40^th anniversary of the "reunification" (new term for occupation) of Jerusalem and "urging" the Bush administration to move its embassy there.

The non-binding resolution, passed in a voice vote Tuesday afternoon, "commends Israel for its administration of the undivided city for the past 40 years, during which Israel has respected the rights of all religious groups."

The resolution, while symbolic, is a reminder to the Arab world (and everyone) that even the "Democratic-controlled" Congress, is on the Jewish state's side in the conflict in the Middle East. So don't expect any just.

None, I reapeat, NONE of the members of Congress spoke against the resolution on the House floor. Some members, however, did speak to endorse the bill.

Now you know why we hate them?

(Image by Ben Heine)

We are all criminals

brownfemipower — Thu, 03 May 2007 20:32:53 +0000

In the U.S., the issue is framed as "Immigration"

The face of the issue is framed as a brown skinned Mexican man.

And yet, all you have to do is scrape just a little under the surface to know what immigration really means and who it effects.

750+ Immigrants Detained in "Operation Return To Sender" Raids

Immigrant youth shelter won't reopen

Judge tells immigrant woman seeking restraining order to leave court or she will be deported.

Immigrant woman dragged a mile to her death.

Immigrant women afraid to seek health care.

Immigrant woman denied cancer treatment for lack of Medicaid.

"She realized that she had to go [back to her husband] because she needed the [immigration] papers. She described the consequences: "He beat me on the head. He sat on my stomach. He put a knife to my throat and raped me. Then he threw me naked on the street."

Palestinian man held on immigration charges held indefinitely in the name of "war on terror"

Rape is the price you pay for crossing the border.

Border patrol agents rape immigrant women: Supervisor watches.

INS holds immigrant children in prison like conditions--they are forbidden from speaking their own languages, told not to laugh, forced to ask for permission to scratch their noses.

Defense attorney demands of rape victim: You've been in this country a long time, why don't you speak English yet?(pdf file page 5)

Immigrants can be held indefinitely without trail.

Clearly, some unpacking of the "immigration debate" is in order. What is really being debated here? And why has this "debate" been framed in the way it has?

For all it's rhetoric stating otherwise, historically, the U.S. has never been all that welcoming to immigrants. The Irish, Chinese, Mexican, Polish, Haitian, Japanese have all been on the brunt end of anti-immigrant rhetoric. And that list is not exhaustive by any means. In most cases, economics pushed anti-immigrant aggression. That is, the dirty Wops/Chinks/Spics/Poles etc. stole jobs from those who deserved them--"real" Americans aka white middle class men.

But right now, things are different. Right now, although anti-immigrant aggression still centers on economics (the dirty spics are stealing jobs/making us pay for their welfare), the driving force behind the debate, the issue that really triggers the debate, is the "war on terror."

Some of the first anti-immigrant organizations in the U.S. to capitalize on anti-Arab "war on terror" policies were the hate organizations the Minutemen Project and the American Patrol Report. Both organizations were classified as hate groups by the U.S. government pre 9-11. They are known for their terror antics on the border--hunting human beings down while armed and on horseback, forcibly detaining and pistol whipping captured border crossers, and destroying water stations put up to prevent deaths. The American Border Report even went so far as to raise money to buy a plane that they could use to "monitor" the border with.

But all of this was conveniently forgotten by politicians, government officials, and universities in a post 9-11 world. "Liberal" John Kerry and Columbia University played host to Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist. Media personalities like Pat Buchanan and Lou Dobbs openly supported each group. And eventually a national debate ensued--are the Minutemen's tactics justifiable?

Almost nobody recognized or talked about the reason why these organizations gained such instant popularity. In a post 9-11 world, they had both taken the time to restructure their campaigns significantly--choosing to focus on the "desperate" situation at the border. The "desperate" situation being, of course, that thousands of Mexicans were crossing through unprotected parts of the border every year--thousands of Mexicans that could really be terrorists. The false desperation of the war on terror leaked into the border, creating a false desperation on the border that has justified everything from increased violence by border patrol agents against border crossers and the building of our own wall.

Similar anti-Arab/immigrant sentiment played out recently in the fallout of the V-Tech shootings. Before it was discovered that the shooter was a Korean born legal immigrant in the U.S., various media pundents were doing their best to connect the shooting to the the Muslim community (which by default, of course, means Arabs). Ray Hanania rightly wonders, "What would have happened to us Arab Americans if that Virginia Tech student had been Arab and not South Korean?"

Nothing good, that we can all be sure of that.

The Mexican community has picked up on this anti-Arab sentiment in their organizing. Unfortunately, this has often led to some of us doing our best to distance ourselves from the rhetoric rather than confront it. For example, at immigration rallies, signs declaring, "somos trabajadores no terroristas" are common. We are workers not terrorists. We are in the U.S. to work hard, we want to be citizens, we're as American as apple pie, we want to be just like you. We are uncritical to the idea of who, exactly, is "you" and what is this history of violence "you" has participated in through the course of U.S. history?

And because we are uncritically demanding to adopt into U.S. citizenship, our "smaller rocks" type movement does very little, if anything, to really challenge larger forms of structural violence and oppressions against any of our communities, much less challenge the working conditions of many migrant workers/undocumented workers.

Perhaps another way to look at this would be to remember that Mexicans are not the only ones whose families are being destroyed and imprisoned. In prison, there is no distinction between terrorist and worker--and ironically, whether terrorist or illegal worker, we all are imprisoned for the same thing: visa issues. If it's ok to imprison a "terrorist"on immigration issues, why wouldn't it be ok to imprison a "worker" on immigration issues?

The issue is framed as "immigration" and the face of the immigration debate is a Mexican male. But it's time for all of us to force open this tiny little box they have squeezed us all into . The United States owes its current existence to the violence it inflicts on each of our communities. If there were no threat of violence to keep workers inline, would we be a model of capitalistic prosperity for corporations world wide? If the workers had any sort of power or influence over decisions made by the government, would corporations have been able to convince the U.S. government to invade Afghanistan or Iraq? If there was no corporate sponsered war on terror, would anti-Arab aggression flourish in the U.S. the way it does? Would children still be seperated from their families? Would immigrant women still be too frightened to report interpersonal violence and abuse?

We are all interconnected. It's time to embrace our differences rather than hide from them. We are all criminals in this country--our assimilation process starts with jails and violence rather than open arms and melting pots. It's time to love each other more than we love the American dream. Our love for each other will be what saves us.

i have always loved criminals
i tell people who try to shame
me into silence

with words like television conjugal
college libraries they say
can you imagine a library in a nigerian chinese a
columbian prison do you know what happens
in the world americans are so spoiled no idea
how lucky we are here

even you often write how
your time has offered reflection
meditation deepened your faith
but you 27 and have 10
years to go nowhere how much deeper
you going to get until a system based
on money deems you rehabilitated

i have always loved criminals
and the way you bomb my tag
butterphoenix all across your letters
reminds me our affirmation is considered vandalism

i have always loved
criminals and not only the thugged
out bravado of rap videos and champagne
popping hustlers but my father
born an arab baby boy
on the forced way out
of his homeland his mother exiled
and pregnant gave birth in a camp

the world pointed and said
palestinians do not exist palestinians
are roaches palestinians are two legged dogs
and israel built jails and weapons and
a history based on the absence of a people
israel made itself holy and chosen
and my existence a crime

so i have always loved criminals
it is a love of self
and i will not cut off any part of
me and place it behind fences and bars
and the fake ass belief
that there is a difference between
the inside and the outside

there is no outside anywhere
anymore just where we are and
what we do while we are here

and there
are people anthony who make a connection
between you puerto rican ryme slayer beautiful man and
young girls twisted into sex work and these
people nazim they are working to stop prisons
from being economically beneficial to depressed
communities and these people
bronx bomber they imagine a world
where money can't be made off the hurt
of the young the poor the colored the
sexualized the different and these people
nymflow they never heard you
spit lyrics and they won't
see the cut of your brilliance
from these mere words
but these people
42851-054 5812
they beleive human
beings can never be reduced
to numbers not in concentration
camps or reservations not in
refugee camps not in schools
and not in jails

these people
brother they resist

i will share these words
with them and i will
in your name and in the names
of all who imagine

stay well
and safe
reisist
and love
suheir

excerpted from the poem "letter to anthony (critical resistance) by suheir hammad "

~En Lucha~

Mattressless American Occupation

Haitham Sabbah — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 17:13:28 +0000

This ironic one comes from the infamous Fox News: An American occupier in Iraq had a simple request last week for a Wisconsin mattress company: "send some floor mats to help ease the hardship of sleeping on the cold, bug-infested ground."

What he got, instead, was a swift kick from the company's Web site, which not only refused the request but added: "If you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out of Iraq."

The courageous employee was fired and the coward â€˜Pakistaniâ€™ company owner apologized on air!