Mideast Media Sampler - 06/16/2013...
1) Music lives in Israel Arsen Ostrovsky interviewed Zubin Mehta about performing Israel: According to Mehta, "it's hard to find an emblem of cultural, national pride that burns as bright as Israel's success in classical music." He adds "the amount of culture going on in a small...
Syria Explodes Professor Jacobson has previously reported on two Israeli strikes: one against Hezbollah and one against Syria. What's going on? Classic thing about the strike on Damascus is how it will be spun by Assad. He'll argue it's "PROOF" he's facing a takfiri-Zionist alliance.— Phillip Smyth (@PhillipSmyth)...
For the details at the start of the bombing, take a look at last night's post, Reports – large explosions in Damascus (Update – Syria blames Israel), which has embedded videos and Twitter accounts. The Twitter feed now is at the bottom of this post. This...
Iran is declaring a red line in Syria on the use of chemical weapons ...
1) Shia is Shia and Sunni is Sunni and never the twain shall meet A couple of Al Qaeda terrorists were arrested in Canada. So of course, expect the LA Times to start its account with this: Police in Canada said Monday that two men suspected of...
1) The red line? Back in December, NBC News reported that Syria had loaded chemical weapons onto planes and was prepared to use them against civilians. Syria prepared to use chemical weapons against own people; military awaits final orders, US officials tell @nbcnews nbcnews.to/RCH3Cz— Breaking News (@BreakingNews)...
1) Syria and contiguity Jacques Neria writes in Stalemate in the Syrian Civil War: While Assad has survived so far, he has not been able to quell the rebellion, the economy is in shambles, and so are most of the areas hit by the civil war. Hundreds...
1) The language of concessions The Washington Post reports Kerry presses Israel and Palestinians for concessions to pave way for peace talks: Kerry first visited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has resisted new talks for most of the past four years. His government had sought to file...
No One Could Have Seen This Coming...
We have reported in the past on the U.S. State Department's willful silence about imprisoned American pastor Saeed Abedini, who has been held in Iran since last September for "evangelizing" and therefore "threatening national security." The American Center for Law and Justice's Jay Sekulow has...
Another one of those things that makes you go hmmm...
He said. And you know what? I think he actually believes it. #MissionAccomplished ...
Those are the reports. Via Ynet: Just four days after Iran proudly announced it had successfully launched a monkey into space – a move seen as proof of a technological breakthrough which may help the Islamic Republic advance its nuclear program, London's Times newspaper is questioning the...
A kiss, via Ynet News: Two Iranian officials could be facing trouble after being caught on camera as they shared a kiss in an elevator. Footage captured by a security camera and broadcast by Sky News Arabia showed Iranian Higher Education Minister Kamran Daneshjoo and Azadeh Ardakani,...
Yesterday the U.S. State Department for the first time mentioned American pastor Saeed Abedini, who has been imprisoned in Iran since September 2012 for speaking out about his Christian views and developing a network of underground churches. While family and friends of the pastor, who...
I don't have a lot of time today because I'm working on something, but I did want to take note of the latest "non-leak leak maybe who knows" regarding supposed direct negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program. The NY Times reports: The United States and Iran...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York today, using a drawing of a bomb as a visual aid to express the Iranian nuclear program. He drew a red line where he believes the UN should intervene. Netanyahu: I brought a...
