The good oil Saikal
August 24, 2011 | Allon Lee
Some analysts just cannot help themselves.
Take ANU Professor Amin Saikal who has articles in today’s Age, the Australian Financial Review and on ABC’s Unleashed website playing an old favourite love song – Libya’s Colonel Gaddafi (or insert Middle East dictator’s name here) remained in power for so long because the West supported him for his oil.
Well, analysts like Saikal who peddle a predictable line in blaming the West for all the Middle East’s ills should note that Libyan rebels are unhappy, not with Western states but China, Russia and Brazil for abstaining from voting for the UN Security Council Resolution authorising NATO’s use of force to impose a no-fly zone in Libya.
Please don’t bother seeking out any references to China, Russia and Brazil in Saikal’s pieces; they aren’t even mentioned.
Daniel Pipes interviewed by Alan Jones on Sydney radio
August 24, 2011
Dr Daniel Pipes was interviewed about radical Islam by Alan Jones on Sydney’s 2GB radio.
Libya after Gaddafi/ The Aftermath of the Eilat Attack
August 23, 2011
As readers are doubtless aware, Libyan rebels are in the capital, Tripoli, and the fall of the Gaddafi regime now looks imminent. This Update features an article and some good links on the complex question of what might happen next. It also features some material on the ongoing tense situation on Israel’s southern border where rockets continue to be fired into Israel from Gaza despite a supposed new ceasefire (see also here and here) and Egypt and Israel have had a public spat over the cross-border raid on Thursday which killed 8 Israelis, but which also apparently resulted in the death of three Egyptian security officers, possibly from Israeli fire.
Hamas versus Iran – Strange bedfellows falling out over Syria?
August 23, 2011 | Tzvi Fleischer
According to a potentially very significant news story, Hamas and its long-time key patron, Iran, have had a falling out over the unrest in Syria…
While it is much too early to predict that the Hamas-Iran split will be permanent, if this did happen, it would be a major re-alignment of the Middle Eastern map, with important implications…
Sandstorm in an A, B, C, or is that a D-cup madam?
August 23, 2011 | Allon Lee
With apologies to Sydney’s infamous beachside surf gang, let’s call them “the other bra boys”.
Turkish daily newspaper Hurriyet has reported on how the Saudi Arabian de facto ban on female participation in the workforce requires the hiring of men to sell intimate apparel to women, making the buying of lingerie both embarrassing and difficult:
This causes much embarrassment for women customers seeking advice on cup sizes in lingerie stores. The shops are also not allowed to have fitting rooms. And the biggest complaint is that male clerks in general try to guess customers’ bra sizes by staring at their abayas.
Bulldozing the truth about Jerusalem
August 22, 2011 | Allon Lee
From the Epic Revisionist Handbook 2011, comes the kind of story that the West and pro-Palestinian apologists prefer to gloss over, a documentary on official Palestinian Authority TV reveals a bright glorious future…. without Jewish people in Jerusalem.
Broadcast on August 10, the documentary apparently labels Jewish worship as “sin and filth” and that “Jews will disappear from the picture”. The show conjures up a nightmarish future, promising that the Western Wall Plaza – the most holy place for prayer in the world for Jews – will disappear and be replaced by an Arab residential suburb.
Recommended reading on Israel’s social protest movement
August 22, 2011 | Tzvi Fleischer
While Israel’s Social Protest movement, which has dominated Israel headlines over the past few weeks, has been eclipsed for the moment by the major terrorist attack in southern Israel on Thursday and subsequent events, it is likely to remain a significant source of debate and political power in Israel for some time to come. I’ve therefore compiled a longish collection of recommended reading for those who want to better understand the movement and the debate it has sparked in Israel.
Terror Attack near Eilat/ Settlement Controversies again
August 19, 2011
As readers are probably aware, there was a major terror attack in southern Israel yesterday, the most serious in a number of years, in which 8 Israelis were killed by a group of terrorists who apparently crossed from Gaza into Sinai, and then into Israel (a useful timeline on the attack is here). Israel responded with airstrikes in Gaza that reportedly killed the leader of the group believed responsible, together with five other terrorists.
The attack raises questions about diminished Egyptian control of Sinai, as well as the growth of extreme Salafist Islamist groups in both the Sinai and Gaza. As Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak stated: ” The incident reflects the weakness of Egypt’s hold over Sinai and the spread of terrorist elements.”
Cosmopolitan Lebanon Dances Back
August 19, 2011 | Tzvi Fleischer
While Lebanon is under the control of a Hezbollah-dominated government, and it is hard to know when or how the stranglehold of this extremist terrorist group will end, it is worth remembering that the cosmopolitan, modernising Lebanon is still in there and not defeated yet.
A reminder of this is this “flash mob” orchestration of a spontaneous dance number at Beirut airport….
Greens attacked for their BDS blues
August 19, 2011 | Allon Lee
The Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment campaign became a focal point for passionate debate over the last two days as it reared its head in both the Australian Senate and Victorian Parliament.
First, the Greens maintained their 100 per cent success rate of refusing to vote in favour of any resolutions condemning boycotts of Israeli-owned or affiliated companies.
