Monday, June 13, 2005

From here and there: Egyptian media reported that, unhappy with Aljazeera's coverage of Egyptian demonstrations, Husni Mubarak sent his advisor Usamah Al-Baz to plead with the Amir of Qatar to reduce Al-Jazeera's coverage. He did. You now will notice that AlJazeera is paying less, far less, attention. It is amazing how much advertisements AlArabiyya has, and mostly from American companies, and Iraqi and Saudi "public service" announcements. Abu Mazen signed the execution of 4 Palestinians today; 3 were hanged, and one was shot by a firing squad. US Congress hailed this as a step in the path of peace, but called for more execution of Palestinians. The Central Committee of Fath recommended the nomination of Abu Al-Lutf as Palestinian vice-president. That only reveals the rift in Fath. This explains the sudden statement by Palestinian foreign minister, Nasir Al-Qidwah, that PA will not disarm Palestinians. He needed the support of Fath in the face of Abu Al-Lutf's attacks on his leadership of Palestinian foreign policy. Times of London is reporting that Mrs. Husni Mubarak wants her son to succeed his father. The Arabic press reported with little information or facts the revolt by Iraqis in Jordan who were receiving training by Jordanian security forces. The Jordanian government gave the most implausible explanations of the riots, which included vandalism of government buildings. A Jordanian government insisted that this was not directed against the Jordanian government that they love, but resulted from displeasure with a soup served.