So everyone loves the Palestinians?

If you've fallen for the picture of Palestinians, beloved people of the Muslim world and tormented only by evil Israelis, well maybe you haven't seen the whole picture. Here's an insight into today's dynamic: Syria, Libya and Jordan have all accused Palestinians of fomenting revolt in their countries, and the Palestinians living in those countries fear they may be deported. So what's really going on? According to Palestinian political analyst Adel Abdel Rahman, Palestinians have become the "rack on which Arab leaders hang their cowardice and collusion against each other." On the other hand, it may turn out that Palestinians have been joining various opposition groups. Add that to the list of mysteries about these opposition groups!

Pat Condell strikes again

Vonnie just sent me this recent video by British commentator Pat Condell. In it, he takes on the United Nations; Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan; and Islamic violations of women's rights - all in just under 7 minutes. He's smart, funny and devastating; enjoy! If you want more of his blistering commentaries, here's a link to one I posted earlier on the Geert Wilders trial in the Netherlands.

More on Libya

From the liberal blog The Daily Beast, here is a report by two Newsweek correspondents who say that some 200 Libyan Al Qaeda operatives lurking in the mountains of Pakistan may be heading home to fight Libyan leader Gaddafi. As a Taliban observer puts it: "This rebellion is the fresh breeze they've been waiting years for." Not to worry, though, according to the authors: it's a long, long way back and very few Islamist terrorists remain in Libya, since Gaddafi killed or imprisoned so many. Plus, the other Libyan rebels are so moderate that any Islamists will have to take a low profile. Like in Egypt, perhaps?

Buycott Israeli products

Opponents of the state of Israel have called for a boycott of Israeli goods tomorrow, March 30. If you want, you can instead make it a buycott day. Here's a link giving the availability of Israeli goods in various U.S. markets. I intend to buy something - I see that Israeli cosmetics are available in Walgreen's as well as major department stores...

A plea from Pakistan

Libby sent me the link to this video, prepared by MEMRI, of an interview in which Pakistani actress Veena Malik responds to charges that she has shamed her family and her country by appearing in an Indian reality show. She challenges her accuser, Mufti Abdul Qavi, to focus on corruption, bribery, and other problems in Pakistan, including sexual abuses committed by the clergy, which are much more serious than the charges he has brought against her. Malik is a very brave and outspoken woman. Let's hope she survives - today's Pakistan is an increasingly dangerous place for someone like her.

Same old, same old

Classic novels are classic for a reason. If you're feeling despondent about wars being declared overnight, about government incomptence and corruption; about the parlous state of education; about how intellectuals make everything worse; or even about the terrible and destructive proliferation of lawyers - cheer up, there's nothing new under the sun!

Or so I learned when Rachel persuaded me to listen to an audio recording of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Check it out if, like me, you somehow missed it. The discovery that we've been going to the dogs a long time made me positively cheerful.

Our new relationship with Egypt

Yet again, Mideast scholar Barry Rubin provides a perspective largely lacking from mainstream media coverage. This time he recounts warning signs suggesting that the new Egyptian regime will be no friend of the United States:

-- Young Google executive and revolutionary hero Wael Ghonim refused to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her trip to Egypt, citing her previous statements in support of the Mubarak government. Last I heard, the State Department was reportedly working with the internet crowd to foment reform.

-- In fact, the youth movement issued the following statement: "The US Administration took the Egypt's revolution lightly and supported the old regime while Egyptian blood was being spilled." Doesn't sound very welcoming, does it?

Barry draws several lessons from this:

-- "Lesson One: Just because you like them doesn't mean they like you.

-- Lesson Two: Just because you help them doesn't mean they will help you.

-- Lesson Three: Just because you pretend they are really moderates doesn't mean it's true."

Rubin predicts that radicals who hate America, not necessarily Islamists, will take over Egypt. He reports, for example, that the 'secular' youth movement has been working with the Muslim Brotherhood for two years.

It's reassuring to know that President Obama's outreach to the Muslim world has been so successful, isn't it? It's looking more and more like what happened to former President Jimmy Carter's policy toward Iran in the late 1970s.