The Middle East Exception

Proud of my army, proud of my new powerful heroes !

2007-06-22T00:53:00.000+02:00

We have waited so long for a video like this one..
What other populations take for granted, we just received it now with this clip.

How do you recognize heroes ?
Well, a sure way to recognize heroes is this: a very poor army, underarmed, undermined,
crushed by 30 years of syrian hegemony, crushes an islamist movement, by the sole BRAVOURY of
its men.
By definition, those men are heroes.
Long live heroes.
Long live Lebanon.

Walt WHITMAN would be VERY angry.... O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done; O CAPTAIN! my Captain, Michel AOUN is definitly NOT thy name

2006-12-07T15:50:00.000+01:00

I am glad to present to you another version of Whitman's poem, but this time, written by AOUN..

Which version is your favorite one ? Comments are yours.

Would You Trust This Guy Now ?

O CAPTAIN! my Captain!

A puzzling run for president in Lebanon: Christian Michel Aoun is alienating his traditional backers and violating Lebanon's unwritten rules

2006-12-07T11:23:00.000+01:00

I Bring you an article I stumbled upon in the LA TIMES, written by Tony Badran.
I thought it reflected a very truthful image about the situation nowadays in Lebanon.
Have a nice read.
-----

IF YOU'RE LUCKY enough not to be obsessed with Middle East politics, you may be surprised to learn that the keynote speaker at Hezbollah's massive Beirut demonstration last week was not a Shiite Muslim but a Maronite Christian. Michel Aoun, the army general who was driven into exile by Syria in 1990 but has been oddly friendly with Syria and its local allies since his return to Lebanon last year, addressed an overwhelmingly Shiite crowd and called for the resignation of Sunni Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

Aoun's primary objective is to become president. To achieve this goal, he concluded a political alliance with Hezbollah in February, hoping to build a strong enough coalition to win the presidency (a position that by long custom goes to a Christian leader).

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With one year remaining in Syrian-installed President Emile Lahoud's term, time is running out for Aoun. Even with Hezbollah's support, he lacks the seats to be elected by parliament. Toppling the current government, however, might be a first step toward a full shift in the country's internal political balance.

Aoun's personal ambitions are quixotic at best. But his drive to be president has been a great gift to Hezbollah, allowing the extremist party to disguise its current attempt at a sectarian coup against one of the Arab world's few democracies as a broad national movement. Lebanon is made up of large minorities of Shiites, Sunnis, Druze and Christians of various sects, along with dozens of smaller groups. To create the illusion of a national consensus, you need useful idiots from outside your own sect. This is where the general comes in.

Aoun has chosen the Shiite option. His soft policy toward Syria (including ambiguous statements about an international tribunal to try the assassins of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri) is aimed at securing Syrian acceptance of his presidential bid. Is it likely that the same regime the general fought in a bloody 1990 war will be interested in making him president of Lebanon? Aoun's newfound ally, Suleiman Franjieh, a longtime Syrian loyalist and a fellow Maronite, seems to think so. Franjieh may envision a new alliance among Maronites, Shiites and the ruling Alawites in Syria.

But Aoun's calculations fail to take in some dangerous regional realities. Syria is more than pleased to see Aoun attacking the anti-Syrian government. So is Iran, whose supreme guide, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, recently predicted the defeat of U.S. and allied interests in Lebanon. Wittingly or not, Aoun is serving these foreign masters for free.

There's a cardinal rule in Lebanese politics that the president must be acceptable both to his own community and to the others. Aoun is neither. His positions have been antithetical to the Maronite patriarchate, the seat of moderation in the community and a strong opponent of using street rallies to unseat the government. Aoun's alliance with Hezbollah and Syria's puppets has infuriated the anti-Syrian Christian community, which aimed much of its anger at him after the assassination of Maronite Cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel last month. Now, by agreeing to be the vanguard of a Shiite-led coup attempt against a Sunni prime minister, he has broken an unwritten rule against getting his community involved in a Sunni-Shiite conflict, potentially putting the already polarized Maronite community at risk.

Meanwhile, there is strong opposition to his candidacy from the main Sunni and Druze leaderships. Their lack of trust in him is exacerbated by his vague position on the international tribunal in the Hariri assassination — unquestionably the priority of these leaderships, as well as of France and the U.S.

It's not even clear that the Shiite parties Amal and Hezbollah would back him for president. Although they have been happy to use Aoun as a club to beat the majority coalition, the Shiites have never made any public endorsement of him. That may be because Aoun has shown the Shiites too that he can't be trusted. During recent national dialogue sessions among the country's leaders, Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement reportedly tried to cut a deal that fell short of what his Hezbollah allies were seeking, embarrassing Hezbollah and prompting it to scuttle the deal.

In the end, the fact that the various communities are opposed to him will make Aoun's gambit a long shot. But his tone-deaf presidential bid should be instructive to anybody who believes that the current street theater in Beirut reflects the will of the Lebanese majority.

For all the chaos that plagues Lebanon, the country's sectarian balance imposes a complex and durable structure of protocols, restrictions and unwritten rules on the various communities. When these boundaries are transgressed, the result is often conflict. The region has a similar set of unwritten rules, and Aoun's support for a possible (Syrian- and Iranian-backed) Shiite coup against the Sunni prime minister has sent the Sunni Arab powerhouses strongly backing Siniora and warning against Iranian interference.

As such, Aoun is but the latest in a line of challengers of Lebanon's unwritten codes. He will fail like all the others; the question is how much damage he causes in the meantime.

-----
Original link to the article: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-badran6dec06,0,8412.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

Jean
--
Veritas Vos Liberabit, Veritas Lux Mea..

GEMAYEL's Assassination: Police had little to report, Pro-syrians accuse.. the VICTIM..

2006-11-22T12:24:00.000+01:00

Police said today, they had little to report about the assassination.

One must admit, it is rather dazzling, this declaration.

A man, in his car, in a moderatly crowded christian neighborhood, in broad daylight, gets bumped in the back by another car, of which 3 gunmen come out, and shower the man's car with bullets, killing him and his bodyguard..

Did I forget anything ? ah yes... this man, is a Cabinet Minister !!!

What am I missing ?? how could the police say they have little to report ?
Is it for the secrecy of the investigation ?? well I thought about that, but no, it couldn't be the right answer. Just look at all the previous assassination attempts where the police gave the same statements.. no suspects have been apprehended yet !

But now it is even stranger, because it happened in a different manner. No boobytrapped car, no remote controlled detonations. No. The murderers were there in their flesh and blood.
yet...."little to report"...

The funniest thing, though, are the responses of the pro-syrian camp.
Basically, they accused march 14 (some specified Geagea) of killing Gemayel, to prevent the pro-syrians from staging their demonstrations..

Let's remember together that Franjieh had in the past accused Saad Hariri of murdering his own father, Rafic Hariri, to gain power..

Syrian FM said that they should investigate with Geagea, because he predicted the murder days before.

Strange world, where the primary suspects accuse the victims... If you needed another proof of guilt, there you go...

Jean
--
Veritas Vos Liberabit, Veritas Lux Mea..

Final confrontation ? Oh solution, FEDERALISM is thy NAME !!

2006-11-16T15:28:00.000+01:00

Things have been happening very fast these past few days.

National dialogue talks resumed, and then (surprise...) failed again, like in the good old pre-July-war times.
However, one thing was different, as subsequently to the failure, all the 5 shiite ministers submitted their resignation from the Lebanese government.

The next day, a christian minister, a protégé of the pro-syrian Lebanese president, walked in the footsteps of his shiite collegues.

This however did not prevent the cabinet from convening and approving the U.N. draft text setting up an international tribunal to try former prime minister Hariri's suspected assassins.

Lahoud (the president) was quick to announce the illegitimacy of the cabinet without its resigning ministers, followed by Speaker Berri, both pro-syrians.

A few days afterwards, Hassan Nasrallah announced in a speech that "they" offered tens of thousands of "martyrs" to Lebanon, and hence Lebanon is theirs. (he probably said it better than me, and more convincingly, I'm sure, but the essence is there...)

Today, Hizbullah (HA) threatened with public obedience.

Aoun is, like usual, still barki.. uh... complaining like a crybaby all the time, but overshadowed by his so-called "ally", Hassan Nasrallah.

Good. So now THE solution.

First, I think I have said it enough. How does HA dare critisize the government, while it is the origin of all the government's troubles ?

But, something new, a new term is born, for you my dear readers (ok, drop the "dear"):
HA and Aoun are becoming masters at the art of Selective Unconstitutionalism !

For HA, it is perfectly unconstitutional for a cabinet to meet without its shiite ministers, and hence its decisions are void.

BUT, and there is where it becomes fun, it is perfectly constitutional to WAGE A WAR without informing your government, attack a neighboring sovereign nation (Yes "dear" readers, Israel exists, as a sovereign nation, for those who are still trying to ignore the "zionist entity").
It is perfectly constitutional to wage violent demonstrations, to destroy whole neighborhoods in the Nation's capital, just because some journalist drew Mohamed on a piece of paper in... Danemark.. or just because a Lebanese satirical show exposed Nasrallah's real intentions..

The list goes on, but I guess you get the idea.

Moreover, and this is one of my favorite parts, HA and Aoun are calling for a national unity government, in the name of democracy.
wow.. what a sentence.... let's take a closer look at it, shall we..

What do HA and Aoun mean by national unity government ? easy, one third plus one seats go to them. This would give them veto power on important governmental decisions... Otherwise known as political death to the country.
But they ask for it in the name of "democracy"..

Strange, call me stupid, but I used to think that democracy consisted of a party in power, and a party in the opposition..
When did the democracy become "all parties in power, let's get ready to rumble !".....??????
Can anyone answer that question ?

Let alone, Aoun, accusing the government of bad infrastructure... for you see, it seems that some roads were filled with water when the first rains came.... do I need to say that this problem exists since ages ?? Is Aoun really so desperate as to attack the government on such stupid and irrelevant topics ?

I guess that Aoun forgot that he was offered ministry seats in the goverment, that he refused, because he wanted specified ministries (defense and exterior, if I'm not wrong)...
So Aoun, a fan of "give me the best, orelse I'll say you are bad" ?

Here comes the part where I'll lose the few of you who are still agreeing with me up until this point.
HA doesn't want to negociate anymore (FM Fneish just said so today). Aoun seems pretty much incapable of admitting his error.
Where do we go from here ?

Easy: Federalism !

Okay, I'll give you 2 minutes to get over the shock and get back in your chair.
Ready ?
Think about it, why not ??

Let's leave the old stupid clichés for a minute. "Lebanon is the example of living together", "Lebanon has 18 sects that live together in harmony", "Lebanon is the place where everybody can live with everybody"....
Wrong ! wake up ! it's a bad bad dream !!

We CANNOT live together, not in the actual shape of the country !
Let federalism solve it ! we will all remain Lebanese, but we will also live in different federations, like it's the case in Switzerland for instance. Weren't we the switzerland of the east ?... ;)

Give me just ONE good argument againt the federal system.
We would all still sing the "kuluna lil watan", no problem there.
HA is clearly unwilling to compromise on anything unless it is in power.
Well, let it be in power in its region. We'll see how this goes.
Let us not be ashamed to say, that what made Lebanon the most democratic and advanced country in the region is not HA.

I tell you, let's forget our taboos and our illusions. Let's sit and study seriously this option.
If it turns out to be a bad one, so be it, but at least let's study the possibility !

UPDATE 1: Christian cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel just got assassinated, november 21st. It seems like a final confrontation is inevitable. Will the Lebanese once again shy away from the truth ?

Jean
--
Veritas Vos Liberabit, Veritas Lux Mea

The KNIGHTS TEMPLAR invade LEBANON

2006-10-20T12:13:00.000+02:00

okay folks, I have it !
The solution I mean, I have it !
The solution for Lebanon.

Okay see you later, have to get my beauty sleep now.
.. what ?.. what ?.. oh.... oh you mean you want to know what the solution is. okay, here it is:

To expose it to you, I need to talk to you about a passion of mine, that has been accompanying me for years now (the most perspicacious of you may have noticed this through some of my quotes). All this time, it was right under my nose. It is something that goes back hundreds of years ago.
I know that the solution for Lebanon lies within the rule of the Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici.
Otherwise known as the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, they are most popularly known as the Knights Templar (KT).

Now, of course the KT was one of the most famous of the Christian military orders.
And of course I am not calling for a crusade or anything of the kind. I'll leave that to George W Bush.
No, what I am saying is that we can be inspired by the rule that these knights used to live by, to bring our country out of the chaos.

Let's take a look at this rule. it is actually devided into many sections, so let's take the very first section, called the primitive rule, and the very first article:
(excuse my bad translation from french.. )

Orig: "We speak first of all with all those who scorn their own will secretly and who wish to serve with courage the knighthood of the sovereign king and with those who want to achieve and who achieve, with assiduity, the very noble virtue of obedience. "

Modif: Replace the "sovereign king" by the "lebanese people", apply the resulting rule to our politicians.

Result: Courage disqualifies most of March 14, scorning one's own will and vertue of obedience disqualifies Aoun and Hizbullah..

Another one, a bit further goes:
Orig: "Because it is written: In multiloquio not effugies peccatum, which means that too much to speak leads to the sin. And in another place: Mors et vita in manibus lingue, which means: 'death and life are within the capacity of the tongue'.
To whomever speaks, we forbid, in all manner, the empty words and the unpleasant bursts of laughter. And if nothing is to be said [..], when you will come in your bed, we order you to say the prayer patenôtre with humility and devotion."

Modif: Hardly anything, just replace the patenôtre with the lebanese national hymn. And absolutely no other chant or hymn.

Results: Aoun is the big looser here, when it comes to words and silence. followed by the whole March 14 and HA, in that order.
When it comes to saying the Lebanese national hymn, HA dethrones Aoun, who follows closely, and is followed by most of March 14.

Yet another article:
Orig: "The Master can give to whom he wants, the horse of another brother as well as his armours and anything else he wills. The brother to whom this thing will be given, or from whom it will have been removed, must not owe grudge, anger, because he will be aware that if he becomes angry, it would be against God."

Modif: Merely replace the Master and God by the Lebanese people, and the brother by the politicians. Taking and giving things are the elections.

Result: Aoun and HA are the big loosers, as they fail yet to respect the will of the Lebanese, expressed in the elections. (no matter that the electoral law doesn't satisfy everybody in the univers)

On errors, it stipulates:
Orig: "If a brother makes a fault, while riding or while speaking or in all other manner, he must, of his own will, show the fault to the Master and he must do it with pure courage of satisfaction. If it is not usual for this brother to make faults, he will have a light penitence of it, but if the fault is too serious, he must be withdrawn from the company of the brothers, must not eat, nor drink at any table, but alone by himself, and must be subjected to the forgiveness and the judgement of the Master and the brothers so that he can be pure at judgement day."

Modif: A brother is any politician, the Master represents the Lebanese people.

Results: ..... not a single actual man in power in Lebanon remains in his seat.....

I'm stopping here, as so far not a single Lebanese politician survived.. sad really.
I guess Lebanon is still waiting for its Knight.

Who can be Lebanon's Templar ?
and most importantly, who can answer this question and how ?...

Jean
--
Non nobis, Domine...

When Muslims told the Pope to play Aoun with March 14's Hizbullah..

2006-10-10T14:42:00.000+02:00

It has been a while since my last post. Partly because I was busy (yes, I do have another job than this blog), but primarily because it seems that the events are just repetitions of past events.

Let me elaborate on that.
so what has happened since my last post:

- Muslims, outraged by the pope's comments he made in Germany, took it to the streets in many countries, with many demonstrations including violence.
Oh, you mean the same thing that happened with the prophet's caricatures ? or the riots of the shiites (HA shiites) in Lebanon after the lebanese satirical show "Basmat watan" ?

- So what else... Ah yes, Hizbullah (HA) celebrated their "devine victory" over the "zionist entity".
Again, they were chanting their victory since before the war ended.

- Aoun attacked the government, said he will wear Sanioura until he is gone. he also said that Lebanon will not be built in embassies..... for the zillionth time.....

- March 14 coalition responded to Nasrallah's speech during his "devine victory" rally.
You have to give it to them, the march 14 and HA, they are really, truly, international ping-pong champions..
HA: "blabla"
M14: "blabla....bla"
HA: "oh yeah ?? blablabaaaabla"
M14: "bu !"
... ok, you got the idea....

Since I am so far along in my post, why not give my point of view to those interested ?

- About the pope's comments, and the reactions that followed:
Am I really the only one, or did the muslims who got upset TOTALLY miss the point ??
I read many (many) comments about that on the net and the blogosphere.
The most amazing fact is that no more than 10% (tops) read the WHOLE pope's speech..
[proud mode ON] I did ! [proud mode OFF]

And here is the link to it:
Pope's Speech

I also had also the opportunity to discuss it with some contacts from the blogosphere (in private), mainly with "Nobody" from the happyarabnews blog.

The muslims were offended by a quote of a Byzantine emperor the pope made.
And to show their non-violent philosophy, the islamic extremists thought wise to burn some flags, break some windows and some stores, and ... "courageously" murder a 70-year-old nun in Somalia. Yep, seventy-year-old.
The nun used to work in a children's hospital. I said "courageous" because she was shot 3 times in the back.
Why ? silly question, it's obvious.. because the pope quoted an emperor about islam.

Now for those of you who bothered to read the pope's lecture in its entirety, they would have probably noticed that the quote should have been the least of the muslims' worries.........
Got your attention didn't I ?
So now let me prove it to you. Here's a direct quote from the pope's lecture:

"[..]The decisive statement in this argument against violent conversion is this: not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God's nature. The editor, Theodore Khoury, observes: For the emperor, as a Byzantine shaped by Greek philosophy, this statement is self-evident. But for Muslim teaching, God is absolutely transcendent. His will is not bound up with any of our categories, even that of rationality. Here Khoury quotes a work of the noted French Islamist R. Arnaldez, who points out that Ibn Hazm went so far as to state that God is not bound even by his own word, and that nothing would oblige him to reveal the truth to us. Were it God's will, we would even have to practise idolatry."

I encourage you to read all the lecture. I cannot afford to quote more here, orelse the size of my post would explode.
The thing is, that the pope talked about the very nature and foundation of god in islam, and compared it to god's image in christianity.
To say it in 2 words, in christianity, god is not a stranger to reason and logic, he always keeps his promise, and people are made on his image.
In Islam, god is not bound to any logic nor word, he is above that, and the people do not ressemble him in any way. (very short description, please read the whole lecture for more and clearer details).

If I were muslim, I would worry more about that than the insignificant quote..
Amazing how noone commented on that fact....
Why didn't we see muslim delegations, muslim thinkers, going on public saying they want to discuss this with the pope ? I am sure he would have gladly accepted.
Instead, they left the islamic extremists take it violently to the streets to show they are not violent...

By the way, Theodore KHOURY, whose works were the basis of the pope's lecture, for those who are still, is LEBANESE. check him out here.

- About HA's "devine victory":
First, let me apologize to Mister Hassan, on behalf of a 1000 lebanese.
They apologize for not being able to attend your rally, because they are 10 feet under the ground.
But it's cool, they say they are not angry or anything, chill, because they died for the just cause, they died so that the "true promise" could come true..
Oh wait... rewind..... play... the true promise ? isn't that about retrieving prisoners, and the land still occupied ?
hmm.... he prisoners are very much still in the israeli prisons (not to mention Syrian prisons), shebaa farms are still occupied...
What divine victory is that ? aaah yes, I almost forgot... HA was driven away from the south, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) are now at the borders...

Uh... what victory is that again ??

To all the cheerful people cheering about the HA's victory, take 30 seconds and think about the following.. no really, t a k e 30 seconds, and think about the following:
Imagine yourselves 15/20 years from now, reading a history book. What would the book say about the last war in Lebanon ?
In my opinion, it would read something along these lines:
"In July 2006 [..]etc etc.. the outcome of the war was the following: Destruction of many southern Lebanese villages, more than a thousand civilian victims (israeli and lebanese). HA failed to achieve its aim, as in bringing back the prisoners and liberating the Shebaa farms.
Moreover, HA received a great blow, in that it was driven away from the border with Israel, a priviledge which was so far given solely to the party, and, the major blow that HA sustained was probably the public outburst against it. HA lost a great deal of popularity in this war, a popularity the party had amassed in 2000.
The lebanese economy suffered for many years after the war, and the impact is still sensible nowadays. That resulted in many problems, mainly the social security system. Many lebanese are known to have been refused access to hospitals because hospitals were refusing patients who were on the social security role.

Israel, however, failed also at its main goal, which was to disarm HA, but gained the deployment of the LAF at its northern borders, a quest it was seeking since 2000. The reconstruction of the few northern cities hit by HA rockets posed no problem whatsoever to the strong Israeli economy".

Please stop chanting about the "devine victory", it is INSULTING to the lebanese people and to the lebanese victims fallen during the war.

- As to Aoun...

uh...... hahahahahahahahahahaha.....
(Read my previous posts about the man)

- As to march 14...

Are you planing on doing something or are you just planing to go on playing ping pong with HA ?
No excuses, march 14 is in power right now, they have to act..

Okay, I guess that'll have to do it for now.
I have to admit that the lebanese politics is starting to annoy me.. Nothing new, nothing interesting...
I'm thinking about converting this blog into a more interesting topic (that will be easy to find), like "carpets on planet Mars". What do you think ? Could be more interesting, no ?

Jean
--
Veritas Vos Liberabit, Veritas Lux Mea..

Hassan Nasrallah gives the perfect example of hypocrisy and misplaced arrogance

2006-09-14T11:44:00.000+02:00

Hassan Nasrallah (HN) has said recently (yesterday) that Hizbullah (HA) is still present in the south of Lebanon, even on the border (with Israel).
Moreover, he said he does not regret the capture of the 2 Israeli soldiers and thanks "God" for helping them do it.
Nasrallah also launched his yet fiercest attack on the government (which his party is part of), and on PM Saniora himself, calling him an amercian tool, and accusing the march 14 coalition of helping Israel during the war.
He also accused the government of not being able neither to stop the war nor to protect Lebanon.
He carried on to attack the government's decision to receive the "killer" Blair, the britsh PM, saying the government had shown little regard for his group and those who died during the war by agreeing to meet with Blair.

Of course, after once again asserting that HA won the war (and not Lebanon), he called for the formation of a new national unity government to include Michel Aoun.

What can one answer to that ?... well, let's give it a shot, shall we !

Can HN really be serious about accusing the government of not being able to stop the war ?
I find this really bold, to say the least.
How can he wonder about the way to stop the war, while he unilaterally started it ??
Did he ask the government's permission to start the war, in the first place ?
What gives him the right now to blame the goverment on a war HE started, and may I add, illegally ?

Again, how can the government protect Lebanon, while HA fighters were hiding among civilians ? or while they were using the UN posts as shields, as many UNIFIL reports very clearly show ? The most famous report in that sense is maybe the one written by the canadian soldier, who died a few days later in an israeli airstrike.

HN didn't get into details on how the march 14 coalition was helping Israel during the war. So one cannot answer this point.
But I would say the ones who helped Israel do all this destruction to the country would be the party which crossed the internationally recognized borders and kidnapped 2 soldiers, giving Israel the perfect reason. Afterwards, I hardly think Israel was counting on march 14 support to carry on with the war.

And now for the best part, where HN accuses the government of showing little regard for his group and those who died during the war by agreeing to meet with Blair.
oh ?..
were HA fighters really concerned about the lives of the civilians they were hiding among ? shiites, sunnis, druze and christians.
Talking about respect, I cannot really recall HA showing any, for the many lebanese fallen victim to the syrian regime, nor to the assassination of Hariri and the 20 others who died with him in that attempt.

Were HA showing respect to the lebanese people when they staged a huge tribute to the syrian occupation of Lebanon, before the syrian troops left it ?
Were HA showing respect to their country, when they were holding big posters of the syrian president Bashar Al-Assad, during that same tribute, and chanting "our soul, our blood, are yours, Bashar !" ?
So how was that considerate to all the lebanese killed by the hands of the syrian occupation ?
how was it respectful to all the lebanese prisoners in the syrian jails, and whom Syria insist on denying their very existence ?
Shall we ask the mothers who are holding pictures of their imprisoned sons and daughters in syrian jails, how they felt when they saw HA paying warm tribute to Syria ?

Do we see people chanting "Our soul, our blood are yours, Blair, Bush, Chirac !" ?

As for Michel Aoun.. I think I wrote enough articles about this man. you can check out my previous posts. The only thing he shares with HN is his megalomania, and the fact that HN is using him.

All this in the name of national unity, for you see, this theme sells well in a country like Lebanon.

I think that HN just forgot that he is just a party leader. He obviously likes playing the role of national leader, which he is not.

I hear him, and I see only hypocrisy and misplaced arrogance.

What is the R E A L problem with the Lebanese, politically speaking ?

2006-09-12T02:07:00.000+02:00

It is a question I have been asking myself for quite some time now.
I still do actually, even though I am beginning to have what seems to be a start of a complete answer.
I will expose my opinion about what I think the real problem with the lebanese is, politically speaking. Again, it is my own opinion, and I invite you to write yours, always in the same spirit, as the famous french writer Voltaire once said:

"Je ne suis pas d'accord avec ce que vous dites, mais je défendrai jusqu'à la mort le droit que vous avez de le dire" ( I do not agree with you, but until I die I will defend your right to state your opinion) (I chose to write it also in french for the french readers, and be it also a small wink to a journalist who I hope will recognize herself).

It begins like this: the Lebanese have been living for too long under corrupt regimes, and in an unhealthy atmosphere.
With the Syrians out, and Hizbullah (HA) under the international community's microscop, it is getting better, but that is only the tip of the iceberg, I fear.

The Lebanese are used to vote according to their own interests, and not that of their country. They are not to blame; had they done otherwise they would have starved to death, of worse, been left to rot in some dark jail cell.

"I vote for this man because he promised he would get my son out of prison", or "I vote for that man because he promised me he would pay for my medical treatment I so much need", are sentences that you could hear during the syrian occupation of Lebanon, and probably still now, in some villages.
For you see, habits are very difficult to get rid of.....

But, the story doesn't end here..
The most dangerous aspect of this is, the Lebanese have somehow developped what I like to call the "personality cult" towards their leaders.
It is not excluded to hear a supporter of mister X say: "Mister X is really a great man, the Lebanese do not deserve him !"..
Let me repeat that: "the Lebanese do not deserve him !".....

Yes, in Lebanon, it is up to the people to be to the liking of their leaders.. and not the other way around.

After my 3 posts about Aoun (which you can still read on my blog), I got a lot of mail, and comments, even messages from friends, telling me: "You know what, you are really mean, and you do not understand anything about politics, and most of all, you do not deserve General Michel Aoun !". I will spare you the less polite mails.

Sad, really..

Let's examine the situation of Aoun precisely in more details. Yes I liked a lot the hate mails I was receiving, so why change a winning horse ?
For as long as I can remember, Aoun was always an outspoken opposer of Syria, and the occupation of Lebanon. This earned him an enormous popular support, especially among the christians.
Upon his return from exile in 2005, and for a few months following that, he kept the same stance, criticizing harshly HA's "state within a state", and claiming loud and clear that "no weapons should be left outside the LAF's hands" (LAF=Lebanese Armed Forces).

His supporters, and I must admit I was among those, were extatic and opposed HA in every way and on every occasion.

But than, Aoun changed stances radically (without getting into the details of why).
OVERNIGHT, the Aounists became best friends with HA, their "natural allies".......
For those of you who are familiar with George Orwell's "1984", doesn't that remind you of anything ?
Why did the Aounists react in such a manner ?
Simply because of the Personality Cult that leaders in Lebanon install on their followers.

For you see, the Aounists do not agree on Aoun's ideas, they agree on Aoun himself. Big difference.

And for those who see politics differently (yours truly), and who stopped supporting Aoun after he stopped speaking in their name, they are faced with the 2 magic sentences:
- "You are not worthy of Aoun"
- "He knows what he is doing, he is more intelligent and aware than us, for he is the leader"

I myself resent that, hence my stance today.
Apparently, and fortunately, I am far from being the only one.
A friend, who was an Aounist, told me that there is starting to be a difference between Aounists and LFPM members (LFPM is Aoun's party).

With HA giving cash money to the refugees who lost their homes, I'm afraid the phenomenon lives on.

As long as there will be this personality cult in Lebanon, and as long as the majority of the people will try to be up to their leaders' expectations, instead of judging them on their work, instead of voting on the long term's benefit, and not the short term's one, nothing can be achieved, I'm afraid.

So is Lebanon doomed ? .... NO ! there are 4 million Lebanese in Lebanon, 15 million Lebanese in the diaspora, spread worldwide.
The personality cult desease does not apply, or at least not in the same proportions, to the diaspora.

The next battle ? getting the right to vote, for the diaspora..

A special dedication to all those who wrote to me saying that I am a traitor not deserving this and that leader, I say that slaves do not fight. This is the priviledge of free men. Free man I am, free man I wish to remain, and everytime one of these megalomaniac leaders stops speaking in my name, he will stop getting my support.
The battle wages on.

5 years.. Heartfelt Tribute and a burning tear to unknown Heroes

2006-09-11T14:31:00.000+02:00

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For once, this only time, and for this only post, I do not really care about comments. You are welcome to leave some, of course, I will read them with great interest, but I won't be answering any questions. This post is a tribute, and I like it to remain just that, without any debate. It is in a sense a selfish post, I kind of wrote it for myself.
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It has been 5 years day to day, since 2 airplanes hit the twin towers in NYC.

In this article, I don't feel like writing poems, or repeating over and over again the same words we have been hearing for the last 5 years, or even asking "why?". Not that I do not feel this way, but I think many say it and have said it better than I could ever do..

No, in this article, I would like to pay a tribute to people who touched me deeply and left a scar deep inside that is refusing to heal.

I am no american, I have never visited the twin towers in my life.
No, on that dark september 11th, I was comfortably in my parisian flat, watching as the terror unfolded.

And then, yet another horrible thing happened:

There was an amateur video showing people evacuating the twin towers by the stairs.
All who could still walk were going down the stairs as FAST as they could, sometimes even stumbling and falling, getting up again, and running DOWN the stairs.

And then IT happened.
In all this mist, and out of nowhere, like fantoms, appearing from the chaos, a unit of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), was going UP the stairs.

All the people were running down, but these uniformed men were going UP, on the stairs, just as fast as the others were going down.
One fireman even looked straight in the camera. I will never forget those big blue eyes.

Were they aware that many of them were running straight to their death ?
No doubt about that.
Why did they do it anyway ?
Because it is their job, because it is what they do, because this is what distinguishes heroes from normal people.

Just to think that this could have happened in Paris, and that me or my colleagues could have been in the shoes of those brave heroes, makes chills go down my spine..
I remember being put on alert that week in the French capital.
I also remember my colleagues and me looking at each others without whispering a word.

For you see, we weren't yet aware of the number of casualties among firefighters, but there was no doubt in our spirit that once this number would be out, it would hurt a great deal.
We were right..

From one firefighter/rescuer to all the fallen comrades that dark day in the United States, a heartfelt tribute, and a burning tear..

This scar refusing to heal will be my companion to the grave, and those blue eyes will hunt me forever.

Image taken from the official FDNY website

You've Been Tagged

2006-09-09T22:40:00.000+02:00

Apparently, I have been tagged (by Free Cedar) and now my punishment is to answer the following questions ;)
So here goes

1- Do you like the look and the contents of your blog?

I'm deeply in love, head over heels.

2- Does your family know about your blog?

hmmm.. using my name and family name doesn't exactly qualify as camouflage.

3- Can you tell your friends about your blog? Do you consider it a private thing?

My friends know about it. They are my main inspiration through our discussions.

4- Do you just read the blogs of those who comment on your blog? or you try to discover new blogs?

Depends on the time I have on my hands. This might come as a shocker to you, but I do not live off my blog, so I have to go work sometimes..

5- Did your blog positively affect your mind? Give an example.

The blog is an internal product of my brain. As such, it cannot have a great effect on it.

6- What does the number of visitors to your blog mean? Do you use a traffic counter?

The number of visitors means that I am not insane as in talking to myself all the time.
I use a traffic counter.

7- Did you imagine how other bloggers look like?

Not really.. why, are they ugly ?? What am I missing ?

8- Do you think blogging have any real benefit?

can't say, haven't been following the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq lately..

9- Do you think that the blogsphere is a stand alone community separated from the real world?

Yes, all bloggers are mysterious wanderers who only come out at night, and eat off bats. We also have 3 eyes.

10- Do some political blogs scare you? Do you avoid them.

Some scare me because I see how extrem and stupid they are. Many bloggers have never set foot outside their country, regardless what this country is. With such bloggers, you are guaranteed to read some funny but scary stuff. I do not avoid them, they say know your ennemy.

11- Do you think that criticizing your blog is useful?

No, my blog is perfect. I know the blogger, he is perfect too.
Before I start getting more hate mail, I am kidding !
Criticism can be useful, it has been in many cases for me, but it can also be futile.

12- Have you ever thought about what happen to your blog in case you died.

No, I am immortal.
Brother of duncan McLeod, from the clan McLeod. Jean McSouc at your service.

13- Which blogger had the greatest impression on you?

Jean Souc. (read, noone paid me enough to write their name here)

14- Which blogger you think is the most similar to you.

Duncan McLeod.

15- Name a song you want to listen to?

Princes of the Univers by Queen.

16- Ask five bloggers to answer these question on their blogs?

I do not need 5 more ennemis writing me hate mail !
Feel free to put yourself in this list, in the comment section, and consider yourself tagged by me.
So here goes for me:

1. Homer Jay Simpson
2. Stanley "Stan" Marsh
3. Cartman
4. Luke Skywalker
5. Antonio "Scarface" Montana

VIDEO: THE DOWNED ISRAELI HELICOPTER

2006-08-30T22:55:00.000+02:00

Link to the video removed, as apparently I was misled and got mixed up with the videos.
Thank you to the commentators who were kind enough to point that out to me.

France honors its engagement

2006-08-24T20:14:00.000+02:00

Jacques Chirac, the French president, in his address to the Nation minutes ago, confirmed that France will honor its engagement in regards to the UNIFIL.
This step comes as France assures that it has received the answers it was waiting for, among them:
- Harder ROE (Rules Of Engagements), the UNIFIL will have the right to use force whenever it deems it necessary,
- More countries will also honor their engagement.

So, France will be sending 2000 troops, and will be also assuming the command of the UNIFIL.
Welcome !!

The Lebanese Army sipping TEA with the Israeli Army

2006-08-18T16:45:00.000+02:00

The IDF(Israeli Defense Forces) released a video, a few days ago, shot by one of its soldiers in the lebanese southern town of Marjayun.

First, let's briefly remember what happened in that town. Israeli forces entered the town on August 10th, without resistance.

Marjayun being a christian town, there was no HA presence there, and the IDF entered it very quickly.
However, there was a Lebanese Armed Forces and Lebanese Internal Security barracks in the town.
These forces did NOT fight.

To get back to the Video released by the IDF, it shows the Israeli and lebanese soldiers having tea together, in a relaxed atmospheres, where Isreali soldiers were even taped smiling, and exchanging bits of conversation with the Lebanese.
All that, while fierce battles were raging elsewhere.

But the most important thing, is the LAF general's answer to the question as to why that happened: "We had our orders from the Ministry of Interior, not to shoot a single shot. We were in line with these orders"....

Now let's go back just a few days back in time, before the Israeli ground invasion began (there was only the IAF bombing from the air) and remember what the Lebanese Interior Minister, Elias Murr, said in a statement, which was a reply to the Israeli's intention of using the ground operations option:
"I have given strict and clear orders. If the Israeli Army comes into the lebanese soil, the Lebanese Armed Forces, I repeat, the Lebanese Armed Forces will intercept the invasion, and fight back."

I hardly think a tee-cup is "fighting back invasion".

Now, if I were Hassan Nasrallah, I would somehow feel backstabbed !!!!!!..... here's my interior minister declaring that he has given orders to the LAF to fight the israeli invasion on one hand, but on the other hand, I have taped proof that such orders did not exist. Quite on the contrary actually..

Was Murr's statement done not to raise HA's suspicions ?..

In all cases, 2 things are very clear:
- Orders not to fire a single shot against the Israeli Army do not mean to have a cup of tea with the latter
- The General, by not firing at the IDF, most certainly spared the lives of many men (Lebanese men).

AOUN, once again, morally and politically supports HIZBULLAH ! PART 2

2006-08-16T15:55:00.001+02:00

This is part 2 of my first post AOUN, once again, morally and politically supports HIZBULLAH ! .

I thought there would be no part 2, but general Michel Aoun(MA), once again, proved me wrong.

I just listened to an interview he gave today to the radio station "Sawt al Ghad".

First and foremost, in ALL MA's interviews that I listened too, something stroke me each and every time... NOT ONCE has he had in front of him a journalist, or attendance who doesn't share his ideas. Not once.
Today's interview was no exception, with the "unbiased" journalist thanking warmly MA at the end of the interview, for his moral support. Not to mention the questions she asked... Welcome to the USSR !

Let me try to resume what MA said in this interview.
First, he starts by saying that Israel has lost, and that all of its supporters in Lebanon have lost too. Reminds you of anything ?

He continues to say, to assert, like if speaking in HA's name (litteraly, he said "I assure the people who are afraid that.."), that HA's arms will never be turned against the lebanese, and will always serve to protect Lebanon. Good to know that he has been mandated to speak on behalf of HA...

He then says that no western country is trying to defend Lebanon, naming France and the US. And he politely invites all those who are saying otherwise to "shut up" (direct quote). Nice.. what next, declare war on France ??

He carries on to attack the government (what's new ?), saying there is not a real government (of course ! he's not in it !)

Then he accuses the governement of not having defended Nasrallah and HA against the US, who call him Terrorist.
As he put it, the government should have told the US that Nasrallah is a man followed by his people and his country which he is defending (in reference of course to the lebanese people...). uh... hello ? I do NOT follow Nasrallah, and yes, I am lebanese, was born lebanese, will die lebanese.

then, MA said that his alliance with HA was to..... reconciliate the different parts of the government between themselves (HA and march 14), and that he has no other interest whatsoever........ I swear he said that :) Do I really need to comment that ? maybe with only some keywords: presidential elections, shiites, allies.

Finally, the journalist asked MA what would be the solution, as he is a "very experienced political man". Note : MA is NOT an experienced politician, he is a MILITARY man. He has as much political depth as I have knowledge in the chinese middle age literature.

So MA answers: "the solution is that the lebanese must be lebanese"... yep, deep.
He continues to explain, saying that the lebanese leaders who used to travel and have meetings with the politicians in the US, France, etc, should not have done so. they should have sit with their lebanese counterparts instead of going seeking external support.
This, coming from the "very experienced politician"........
Note: Lebanon is a very small country used by everyone else to settle their accounts, and were it not for some external help, Lebanon would have been in much deeper trouble, to say the least.
Why doesn't he ask his allies, HA, with whom they have been meeting ? ... (hint: it's to the east !)

The journalist asked, again very "objectively": " General MA had foreseen all of this situation, before it happened, and said that it would happen, even before the war. were his words heard by the politicians ?" yes she sometimes addresses him in the 3rd person.

MA: "No, they were counting on the war to happen"..

and MA added "humbly" : "No military expert could have foreseen the nature of HA's secrets and readiness.. BUT I MYSELF can compare the IDF and the Resistance. and I MYSELF have said that HA is capable of breaking the israeli destruction machine, and it did ! with very very few casualties among HA fighters ! IDF is faced with historical shame for the civilian casualties and the destruction that outdid relatively the iraqi destruction.".... again, I swear he said that ! apparently, MA has the count of HA fighters fallen... or maybe talk is cheap.

Commenting about the positive side of the war, MA said it was the national unity that the lebanese showed ! uhu, right, exactly, and my blog is the proof of it, right ?? and the other lebanese blogs opposing HA too, right ?

Now comes one of my favorite parts. the journalist says "you have significantly contributed to the national unity between all lebanese, by your alliance with HA, and you have succeeded, and the proof to your success is the unity of the lebanese with the refugees from the south. so how can you play yet a bigger role in unity ?"
uh....excuse me ?? my friends in Lebanon accepted and took in all the refugess they could, out of humanity. IN NO WAY they are supporters of MA, and in no way they did it because of MA's alliance with HA... what a perverted way to try proving something that is in fact not true !
I guess that "Medecins sans frontières", and all the international humanitarian aids also came to Lebanon because of MA's alliance with HA...... right ?

And here, my very best part of the interview..
Then the journalist asks : "for those Lebanese who are desperate of Lebanon, what do tell them ?"

MA:" 3 things: Love, faith, and hope. because with Love you can break barriers, with faith you move mountains, and with hope you run under the sand"..
Hearing this replu, a song comes to my mind, called What If God Was One Of Us ;) I truly believe that he thinks he is some sort of divinity.

So let me resume MA's speech: To hell with the government, to hell with France, to hell with the US, I hate their guts, all of them ! the solution is love...... let us love each others..

If I can allow myself, some advice to General Michel Aoun (you are free to complete the list):

- You are NOT Jesus Christ,
- You won't become president by betraying your principles,
- You are NOT Jesus Christ,
- You cannot criticize the government on a daily basis and pretend to be helping it,
- You are NOT Jesus Christ,
- You cannot preach love when all you do is bark curses on everyone who opposes you and HA,
- You are NOT Jesus Christ,
- It doesn't do you any good to change political positions 180° just few months after your return to Lebanon,
- You are NOT Jesus Christ,
- I know you are 71 and eager to be president, but this is not the way, believe me, I was a supporter of yours..
- You are NOT Jesus Christ,
- Work hand in hand with the real and true lovers of Lebanon, even if it is against your doubtful actual political allies,
- You are NOT Jesus Christ,
- You should NOT be attacking your government, while it is coming under fire from Syria and Hizbullah, for your own personal interests,
- You are NOT Jesus Christ,
- If you really love your country, work hand in hand with the legitimate power of your country (hint: your government), instead of stupidly calling HA's arms "the defense of Lebanon",
- You are NOT Jesus Christ,
- You should not allow yourself to say that you don't need France and the west. They just might hear you, and abandon you..,
- You are NOT Jesus Christ,
- You should not take sides with ASSAD and HA, against your own government, it will backfire one day, you'll see. Like I said, I WAS a supporter of yours... already backfiring, see ?
- You are NOT Jesus Christ,

I'll stop here, even though I can go on and on.

Al-Assad CALLS CEDAR REVOLUTION TRAITORS

2006-08-15T13:05:00.000+02:00

I just saw a comic movie called "the syrian president speaks in front of the syrian press".

Actually Al-Assad was addressing a while ago, a hall full of syrian press representatives (correct me if I'm wrong).
He basically said what you would expect him to say, not very inventive. Dictators don't have to be.
The audience did what you would expect it to do, applause stupidly and in coordination. Start applausing at the same fraction of the second, stop applausing at the same fraction of the second.

Till now, nothing new, standard masquerade of a "leader's" "free" speech. I was preparing to change channels, when.......
..when mister al-assad decided to call the Lebanese who kicked him out of Lebanon "traitors"...

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, lovers of the free world, you are traitors by mister Al-Assad's standards.

Actually, Al-Assad started off, expectedly, by praising the "tremendous victory of the Hizbulla (HA) over Israel", and the usual blabla.
And then, came the interesting part.
Al-Assad called the Lebanese who participated in the Cedar Revolution, which kicked the syrians out of Lebanon, traitors, because they are demanding the disarmament of HA.

The syrian president doesn't stop here, but also makes allegations that those Lebanese, known as the march 14 coalition, made a deal with the Israelis, to enter Lebanon and attack HA and disarm it by force.

He continued to say that they were trying to do like the "lebanese traitors" had done in 1982/1983, on this famous 17 may, when the IDF entered Lebanon to destroy the PLO.

And, as by some miracle, there was in the audience, some Lebanese supporters of HA, who INTERRUPTED Al -Assad in his speech, by standing up and starting to read a written statement, thanking HA, thanking Syria, and of course thanking Al-Assad....... how appropriate.

and Al-Assad let them interrupt him without any frustration, or surprise..
How spontaneous huh ?...... Especially when we know how much the freedom of expression is an unknown concept in Syria.. Do they really expect the world to believe that this intervention was not staged ?? I wonder...

The lebanese lady finishes praising the god Al-Assad, and the latter carries on with his speech.
He will be interrupted again 3 or 4 times, and the same ritual will be played again and again.
One of these times, a poet interrupted him, to recite a poem to his glory !

How refreshing it was to see how "democratic" Syria is, and how freedom of speech is respected.

Damascus spring, whenever you are ready guys !

I just hope that "the traitors" will have enough courage not to be intimidated by this man, and that they will ontinue the battle for a free and sovereign Lebanon..

Update 1 : The German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, cancelled his trip to Damascus, after Assad's speeck.

How the lebanese are seen by israelis

2006-08-14T20:25:00.000+02:00

I invite all the israelis who surf on the lebanese blogs, to write a few lines and describe how they feel, and what they think about the lebanese people. And how they see the future of the region.
Don't hesitate to elaborate..

For all the racists (of both sides) and the narrow minded people (which is actually a redondancy), please don't pollute this blog with your unwelcome remarks.

Resolution 1701 IS BORN !!

2006-08-12T02:01:00.000+02:00

The UN Security Council passed unanimously the resolution draft, 15 votes.
Resulotion 1701 is born.
The Lebanese cabinet will take up the Resolution on saturday, the Israeli cabinet on sunday.

Updates as the story develops..

UPDATE 1 : The cease-fire is to take effect monday at 8am
UPDATE 2 : Israel is escalating its ground offensive and warning of bigger bombardments of Beirut (thank you Ryan)

"THE MOST HYPOCRITICAL PEOPLE ON EARTH"

2006-08-11T21:17:00.000+02:00

I want to share with you an article I ran across today, written by a lebanese journalist, namely Michael Béhé, in Beirut. The article appeared in the Metula News Agency website. It is a bit long, but very interesting.

The reason I paste your this article is that I think it differs from almost ALL what has been written so far, and it expresses opinions of Lebanese people, so it deserves the attention. (the article was written in Beirut)
I reserve my opinion for myself for the time being, but would express it in the comments as they go.
here goes:

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The politicians, journalists and intellectuals of Lebanon have, of late, been experiencing the shock of their lives. They knew full well that Hezbollah had created an independent state in our country, a state including all the ministers and parallel institutions, duplicating those of Lebanon. What they did not know – and are discovering with this war, and what has petrified them with surprise and terror – is the extent of this phagocytosis.

In fact, our country had become an extension of Iran, and our so-called political power also served as a political and military cover for the Islamists of Teheran. We suddenly discovered that Teheran had stocked more than 12,000 missiles, of all types and calibers, on our territory and that they had patiently, systematically, organized a suppletive force, with the help of the Syrians, that took over, day after day, all the rooms in the House of Lebanon. Just imagine it : we stock ground-to-ground missiles, Zilzals, on our territory and that the firing of such devices without our knowledge, has the power to spark a regional strategic conflict and, potentially, bring about the annihilation of Lebanon.

We knew that Iran, by means of Hezbollah, was building a veritable Maginot line in the south but it was the pictures of Maroun el-Ras and Bint J’bail that revealed to us the magnitude of these constructions. This amplitude made us understand several things at once : that we were no longer masters of our destiny. That we do not possess the most basic means necessary to reverse the course of this state of things and that those who turned our country into an outpost of their islamic doctrine’s combat against Israel did not have the slightest intention of willingly giving up their hold over us.

The national salvation discussions that concerned the application of Resolution 1559 and which included most of the Lebanese political movements were simply for show. Iran and Syria had not invested billions of dollars on militarizing Lebanon in order to wage their war, simply to give in to the desire of the Lebanese and the international community for them to pack up their hardware and set it up back home.

And then, the indecision, the cowardice, the division and the irresponsible behavior of our leaders are such that they had no effort to make to show their talent. No need to engage a wrestling match with the other political components of the Land of Cedars. The latter showed themselves – and continue to show themselves – to be inconsistent.

Of course, our army, reshaped over the years by the Syrian occupier so it could no longer fulfill its role as protector of the nation, did not have the capacity to tackle the militamen of the Hezb [hezb-Allah : the party of Allah. Translator’s note]. Our army whom it is more dangerous to call upon – because of the explosive equilibrium that constitutes each of its brigades – than to shut up behind locked doors in its barracks. A force that is still largely loyal to its former foreign masters, to the point of being uncontrollable ; to the point of having collaborated with the Iranians to put OUR coastal radar stations at the disposal of their missiles, that almost sunk an Israeli boat off the shores of Beirut. As for the non-Hezbollah elements in the government, they knew nothing of the existence of land-to-sea missiles on our territory… That caused the totally justified destruction of all OUR radar stations by the Hebrews’ army. And even then we are getting off lightly in these goings-on.

It is easy now to whine and gripe, and to play the hypocritical role of victims. We know full well how to get others to pity us and to claim that we are never responsible for the horrors that regularly occur on our soil. Of course, that is nothing but rubbish! The Security Council’s Resolution 1559 – that demanded that OUR government deploy OUR army on OUR sovereign territory, along OUR international border with Israel and that it disarm all the militia on OUR land – was voted on 2 September 2004.

We had two years to put implement this resolution and thus guarantee a peaceful future to our children but we did strictly nothing. Our greatest crime – which was not the only one! – was not that we did not succeed but that we did not attempt or undertake anything. And that was the fault of none else than the pathetic Lebanese politicians.

Our government, from the very moment the Syrian occupier left, let ships and truckloads of arms pour into our country. Without even bothering to look at their cargo. They jeopardized all chances for the rebirth of our country by confusing the Cedar Revolution with the liberation of Beirut. In reality, we had just received the chance – a sort of unhoped-for moratorium – that allowed us to take the future into our own hands, nothing more.

To think that we were not even capable of agreeing to “hang” Émile Lahoud – Al-Assad’s puppet – on Martyrs’ Square and that he is still president of what some insist on calling our republic… There is no need to look any further : we are what we are, that is to say, not much.

All those who assume public and communicational responsibilities in this country are responsible for this catastrophe. Except those of my colleagues, journalists and editors, who are dead, assassinated by the Syrian thugs, because they were clearly less cowardly than those who survived. And Lahoud remained at Baadbé [the president of the Lebanese Republic’s palace. Editor’s note]!

And when I speak of a catastrophe, I do not mean the action accomplished by Israel in response to the aggression against its civilians and its army, which was produced from our soil and that we did strictly nothing to avoid, and for which we are consequently responsible. Any avoiding of this responsibility – some people here do not have the minimal notions of international law necessary to understand! – means that Lebanon, as a state, does not exist.

The hypocrisy goes on : even some editorialists of the respectable L’Orient-le-Jour put Hezbollah’s savagery and that of the Israelis on a par! Shame! Spinelessness! And who are we in this fable? Poor ad æternum victims of the ambitions of others?

Politicians either support this insane idea or keep silent. Those we would expect to speak, to save our image, remain silent like the others. And I am precisely alluding to general Aoun, who could have made a move by proclaiming the truth. Even his enemy, Walid Jumblatt, the Druse leader, has proved to be less… vague.

Lebanon a victim? What a joke!

Before the Israeli attack, Lebanon no longer existed, it was no more than a hologram. At Beirut innocent citizens like myself were forbidden access to certain areas of their own capital. But our police, our army and our judges were also excluded. That was the case, for example, of Hezbollah’s and the Syrians’ command zone in the Haret Hreik quarter (in red on the satellite map). A square measuring a kilometer wide, a capital within the capital, permanently guarded by a Horla army [1], possessing its own institutions, its schools, its crèches, its tribunals, its radio, its television and, above all… its government. A “government” that, alone decided, in the place of the figureheads of the Lebanese government – in which Hezbollah also had its ministers! – to attack a neighboring state, with which we had no substantial or grounded quarrel, and to plunge US into a bloody conflict. And if attacking a sovereign nation on its territory, assassinating eight of its soldiers, kidnapping two others and, simultaneously, launching missiles on nine of its towns does not constitute a casus belli, the latter juridical principle will seriously need revising.

Thus almost all of these cowardly politicians, including numerous shiah leaders and religious personalities themselves, are blessing each bomb that falls from a Jewish F-16 turning the insult to our sovereignty that was Haret Hreik, right in the heart of Beirut, into a lunar landscape. Without the Israelis, how could we have received another chance – that we in no way deserve! – to rebuild our country?

Each Irano-Syrian fort that Jerusalem destroys, each islamic fighter they eliminate, and Lebanon proportionally starts to live again! Once again, the soldiers of Israel are doing our work. Once again, like in 1982, we are watching – cowardly, lying low, despicable, and insulting them to boot – their heroic sacrifice that allows us to keep hoping. To not be swallowed up in the bowels of the earth. Because, of course, by dint of not giving a damn for southern Lebanon, of letting foreigners take hold of the privileges that belong to us, we no longer had the ability to recover our independence and sovereignty. If, at the end of this war, the Lebanese army retakes control over its territory and gets rid of the state within a state – that tried to suffocate the latter –, it will only be thanks to Tsahal [the Israeli Defense Forces. Translator’s note], and that, all these faint-hearted politicians, from the crook Fouad Siniora, to Saad Hariri, the son of Lebanon’s plunderer, and general Aoun all know perfectly well.

As for the destruction caused by the Israelis… that is another imposture : look at the satellite map! I have situated, as best I could, BUT IN THEIR CORRECT PROPORTIONS, the parts of my capital that have been destroyed by Israel. They are Haret Hreik – in its totality – and the dwellings of Hezbollah’s leaders, situated in the large Shi’a suburb of Dayaa (as they spell it) and that I have circled in blue.

In addition to these two zones, Tsahal has exploded a nine-storied building that housed Hezbollah’s command, in Beirut’s city center, above and slightly to the left (to the north west) of Haret Hreik on the map. It was Nasrallah’s “perch” inside the city, whereby he asserted his presence and domination over us. A depot of Syrian arms in the port, two army radars that the Shiite officers had put at the Hezb’s disposal, and a truck suspected of transporting arms, in the Christian quarter of Ashrafieh.

Moreover the road and airport infrastructures were put out of working order : they served to provide Hezbollah with arms and munitions. Apart from that, Tsahal has neither hit nor deteriorated anything, and all those who speak of the “destruction of Beirut” are either liars, Iranians, anti-Semites or absent. Even the houses situated one alley’s distance from the targets I mentioned have not been hit, they have not even suffered a scratch; on contemplating these results of this work you understand the meaning of the concept “surgical strikes” and you can admire the dexterity of the Jewish pilots.

Satellite map of Beirut MISSING but not indispensable for the comprehension of the article (Jean)

Beirut, all the rest of Beirut, 95% of Beirut, lives and breathes better than a fortnight ago. All those who have not sided with terrorism know they have strictly nothing to fear from the Israeli planes, on the contrary! One example: last night the restaurant where I went to eat was jammed full and I had to wait until 9:30 pm to get a table. Everyone was smiling, relaxed, but no one filmed them: a strange destruction of Beirut, is it not?

Of course, there are some 500,000 refugees from the south who are experiencing a veritable tragedy and who are not smiling. But Jean [Tsadik. Editor’s note], who has his eyes fixed on Kfar Kileh, and from whom I have learned to believe each word he says, assures me that practically all the houses of the aforesaid refugees are intact. So they will be able to come back as soon as Hezbollah is vanquished.

The defeat of the Shi’a fundamentalists of Iranian allegiance is imminent. The figures communicated by Nasrallah’s minions and by the Lebanese Red-Cross are deceiving: firstly, of the 400 dead declared by Lebanon, only 150 are real collateral civilian victims of the war, the others were militiamen without uniform serving Iran. The photographic report “Les Civils des bilans libanais” made by Stéphane Juffa for our agency constitutes, to this day, the unique tangible evidence of this gigantic morbid manipulation. Which makes this document eminently important.

Moreover, Hassan Nasrallah’s organization has not lost 200 combatants, as Tsahal claims. This figure only concerns the combats taking place on the border and even then the Israelis underestimate it, for a reason that escapes me, by about a hundred militiamen eliminated. The real count of Hezbollah’s casualties, that includes those dead in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, Baalbek and their other camps, rocket and missile launchers and arms and munition depots amounts to 1,100 supplementary Hezbollah militiamen who have definitively ceased to terrorize and humiliate my country.

Like the overwhelming majority of Lebanese, I pray that no one puts an end to the Israeli attack before it finishes shattering the terrorists. I pray that the Hebrew soldiers will penetrate all the hidden recesses of southern Lebanon and will hunt out, in our stead, the vermin that has taken root there. Like the overwhelming majority of Lebanese, I have put the champagne ready in the refrigerator to celebrate the Israeli victory.

But contrary to them – and to paraphrase Michel Sardou [a French singer. Translator’s note] –, I recognize that they are also fighting for our liberty, another battle “where you were not present”! And in the name of my people, I wish to express my infinite gratitude to the relatives of the Israeli victims – civilian and military – whose loved ones have fallen so that I can live standing upright in my identity. They should know that I weep with them.

As for the pathetic clique that thrives at the head of my country, it is time for them to understand that after this war, after our natural allies have rid us of those who are hindering us from rebuilding a nation, a cease-fire or an armistice will not suffice. To ensure the future of Lebanon, it is time to make peace with those we have no reason to go to war against. In fact, only peace will ensure peace. Someone must tell them because in this country we have not learnt what a truism is.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Feel free to discuss any point of the article on the comments section. I do not know the author, but I think it would be interesting to debate the ideas he expressed.

AOUN, once again, morally and politically supports HIZBULLAH !

2006-08-10T22:44:00.000+02:00

I have reported in a previous post that Aoun could be playing a double game, one internally and the second on the international level. I had based my post on testemonies and facts from both Israelis and Lebanese.

Tonight, many sources are beginning to talk about a possible UN Security Council resolution in the next 24 hours, to achieve a permanent cease-fire.
Many speculations are circulating in these moments about the contents of such a resolution.
It is more or less clear by now that the resolution would call for the deployment of the LAF (Lebanese Armed Forces), backed by an international force.
HA would have to release unconditionally the prisoners in a first step, and be disarmed with the help of the international force in a second step.

So far so good. Now, the question I have asked in my previous post , where does Aoun really stand ?

Well, at the beginning of the hostilities, he gave a statement saying that he supported the Lebanese government in ALL its decisions. Beautiful.

But as we all know, Aoun is tied with HA by an agreement made before the hostilities.
Even though he officially supports the government in all its decisions, since the beginning of the hostilities, he has not refrained from criticizing it.

Tonight, once again, truthful to himself, Aoun steps out to unilaterarly oppose this potential UN SC Resolution.
Aoun apparently refuses any disarmement of HA by external forces or extenal ways.
Moreover, he carries on by saying that he supported the government since the beginning, but that they kept making the wrong moves, and had the government adopted Aoun's alliance agreement with HA, not one single shot would have been fired.

How is that "supporting the government", I wonder ? For me, supporting someone is embracing their ideas, or at least giving to that someone useful advice. Not criticizing him all the way. Not taking the integrality of one's decisions in the interests of HA, whether it suits the government or not..

In my opinion, Aoun sheltered himself by saying he supported the government, while he in fact kept his entire independance and distance from that government, that he doesn't miss a chance to criticize.

Is it really rational at this stage to demand that the arms of HA be discussed internally, like Aoun wants ?? is it really good to go back to those masquerades, called "national dialogue" meetings, where Aound and HA opposed every decision ?
No, we cannot disarm HA internally ! and that's a fact !
So what is Aoun's aim, when he refuses to disarm HA with external ways ?

Criticizing the government puts Aoun on the front scene. Bullseye !

Once again, I am part of no lebanese political party, so refrain from throwing cheap accusations to avoid addressing the real problem at hand.

Update 1 : Aoun also said that Israel would be glad if Syria went back to Lebanon, because it would be more confortable to Israel that way.
How is that possible, I wonder. If syria is in Lebanon, Syria controls everything, including HA and the borders ! And correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that there is lost love between Syria and Israel .... How would it be better for Israel ?
Secondly, to continue with the conspiracy theories, if Israel wanted to control Lebanon, what would be the best way to do that ? DEMOCRACY ! because a democratic Lebanon, weaker economically and militarily that Israel, is easier to control. you just have to control the president and the PM, through economic or any other way...

Update 2 : Olmert announced that he will be ordering the full ground offensive, because basically he is unhappy with the UN resolution..
So all of you in Lebanon, brace yourselves ... thank you Nasrallah (for those of you wondering, the "thank you nasrallah" is ironical)

Iranian Revolutionary Guards in South Lebanon ?

2006-08-10T13:58:00.000+02:00

Israel's Channel 10 television cited yesterday evening (August 9th) diplomatic sources as saying members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard had been found among Hezbollah guerillas slain by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.
It carried on by saying that the Iranians were identified by papers found on their bodies. but it gave no further details on how many were discovered or when.

Hezbollah today denied the news:

"Hezbollah categorically denies the lies and claims that the enemy is promoting that Iranian fighters are present in the confrontations with the occupation forces," the pro-Iranian Lebanese guerrilla group said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards are traditionally very close to fellow Shiite Muslims in Hezbollah and were deployed in south Lebanon in the 1980s.

More details as the story develops...

Update 1 : the iranian Embassy in Beirut denies the presence of Iranians in HA ranks

To understand the current situation (Excellent article !)

2006-08-07T11:36:00.000+02:00

I stumbled across an article by Michael Young, published 3 days ago.
In my opinion, it explains very well the current lebanese situation, and why we are today at war.

I recommand reading it, even it is a bit lenghty. It is worth it.

Here is the article (free registration to the new york times website required.)

QANA tragedy.... Where is the truth ? double tragedy ??

2006-08-03T11:07:00.000+02:00

No need to explain to the reader what the Qana massacre was all about.
But apparently, many contradictory informations are beginning to see the light...

At first, the numbers were as follows:
approx. 60 civilians dead, under which no less than 37 children..

Today, it appears that Lebanese hospital officials revised down that number, to.. 28 civilian victims. They also said that no less than 10 people are still missing. (source: Naharnet)

Where is the truth ? why all this mishandling of innocent victims' lives ? which number is the right one ? and who is responsible for the wrong number ?

One thing is sure, all this fuss around Qana clearly shows one thing:
innocent human lives have also become, alas, an instrument of war and propaganda... no word can describe this atrocity.. welcome to the human lives trading fair !

An nescis, mi fili, quantilla sapientia mundus regatur ?

Jean
--

Michel AOUN / Ehud YAARI: Where does AOUN really stand ?

2006-08-01T13:41:00.000+02:00

I got the following information from a contact on my blog (thank you O.S.).

A few days ago, Ehud Yaari, the Middle East commentator for Israel TV Channel 2 and an associate of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, shared a statement on the evening News (at 8 p.m. local time), at Channel 2, in Israel.

The statement was sent to him by a representative of Michel Aoun. Ehud Yaari summerized the statement as follows.

It is a message from Aoun to the Israelis, which basically states that Aoun is not engaged in this fighting, other than by aiding the refugees, and solely that.
Mainly, that they (Aoun's party) are only helping diplaced people and refugees, and only involved on the humanitarian aspect.

As I am not in Lebanon, so from the information I could gather these past weeks on the internet, I figured that Aoun was standing morally and politically beside Hizbullah. I might be wrong, as I said.

What is the situation in Lebanon ? and why did Aoun feel somehow obliged to justify his positions to the Israelis ? was he attacked ? why was there no similar statement to the lebanese as well ? why is he viewed in lebanon as an ally (political ally of course, not military) to Hizbullah ?
I hope your comments will help me understand the situation better.

A little annexe:
The lebanese are familiar with michel aoun. I will try to give a very very short glimpse at the man, and I don't pretend to be exhaustive.
Aoun was in exile for 14 years, for opposing the syrian presence in lebanon. he came back last year, after the Cedar Revolution succeded in pushing the Syrians out.
Upon his return, he was a fierce opposer to Hizbullah, saying that there should be no state within the State, and no arms outside the lebanese army.
a while ago, his stance changed almost radically, where he allied himself with hizbullah (some say, mainly the march 14th coalition, that it is because of Aoun's electoral aspirations, which his alliance with HA could provide him).
he distanced himself from the March 14th coalition, and began flirting more with HA.
Once a staunch outspoken ennemy of Syria, he also began to soften his stance about Syria, totally unthinkable, just a couple of months earlier. This even drove Syrian president Assad to "Thank" Aoun for his support and consider him a defender of Syria in Lebanon.

During this ongoing war, he seems to be blaming it on the Israelis, and acknowledges HA as a resistance.

I would like to state that I do NOT belong to any lebanese political party, and this thread is merely for me to obtain the truth.

P.S: If somebody has the exact statement that Aoun forwarded to Yaari, I would be very interested..

Update 1: News Confirmed !

Heroes are born, Salute !

2006-07-28T09:51:00.000+02:00

I would like to draw the attention of the readers to a point that seems to have been overlooked.
It's true that there is a war raging in the south of lebanon, it is true that civilians are dying.
But it is equally true that there are HEROES being made each and every hour of the day (and night).

A big thank you for those discret heroes, the Lebanese Red Cross Volunteers, who risk their lives every day, to save others', and to bring hope (no matter how small), to the people trapped in this war.
Those people are all volunteers, they don't get a single cent for what they're doing. I should know, I'm an international red cross member.

Their ambulances are exposed to fire from both sides, and many ambulances have already been hit.
Ironically enough, one ambulance got hit on the roof right in the midlle of the red cross sign, by an israeli fighter jet.

You guys are the bravest, you are our guarding angels, your hearts are bigger than all the bombs and all the misery..

To those guardian angels, thank you for being there, and god speed.

A thing that should NEVER happen again:

UPDATE 1 : A Lebanese Red Cross Member suffered martyrdom on August 11th, in the Israeli airstrike that hit the Marjayun convoy.......

My Lebanon - ya lebnan !

2006-07-26T11:02:00.000+02:00

I have decided to write some quotes about my beloved country. Quotes by local and foreign poets, philosophers, politicians, who once had the priviledge to be in this country.
Lebanon is not Hizbullah, Lebanon is not war. This is Lebanon.
I'll be updating with new quotes, and everybody is welcome to participate.

So that we, and the world, don't forget who we are...

There is no other way than to begin with lebanon's most renowned philosopher, this country's son, Gibran Khalil Gibran (a distant relative of mine, by the way):
----

"If Lebanon was not my country I would choose lebanon my country"

"These are the children of Lebanon; they are the lamps that cannot be snuffed by the wind and the salt which remains unspoiled through the ages."

Gibran Khalil Gibran

"The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house."
Holy Bible

"Berytus Nutrix Legum"
Which means, Beirut, mother of laws, title given to the city under the roman empire. Berytus (Beirut) school of law was the most renowned of law schools.

"Je suis fait de ton cèdre à jamais verdoyant,
Et de ton humble église au tendre son de cloche,
De ta foi qui persiste au coeur de l'Orient,
Et dont le pur encens au flanc des monts s'accroche.
[..]
Liban sans cesse en fleurs et débordant d'amour,
Je te suis à jamais, ô Liban de lumière,
Plus que reconnaissant de te devoir le jour !..."
Charles Corm

"Le cœur humain n’a pas cessé de s’émouvoir devant le déploiement des beautés et des chants du Liban."
Maurice Barrès, Une enquête aux pays du Levant

"Mais le Liban n’est pas assez vanté. C’est aussi beau que les Pyrénées mais sous un ciel d’Orient."
Gustave Flaubert, Notes du Voyage en Orient

"[Les cèdres du Liban] sont les monuments naturels les plus célèbres de l' univers. La réligion, la poésie et l' histoire les ont également consacrés. L' écriture sainte les célèbre en plusieurs endroits. Ils sont une des images que les prophètes emploient de prédilection. Salomon voulut les consacrer à l' ornement du temple qu' il éleva le premier au dieu unique, sans doute à cause de la renommée de magnificence et de sainteté que ces prodiges de végétation avaient dès cette époque. Ce sont bien ceux-là; car Ézéchiel parle des cèdres d' Éden comme des plus beaux du Liban.
[..]
Que de prières n' ont pas résonné sous ces rameaux! Et quel plus beau temple, quel autel plus voisin du ciel, quel dais plus majestueux et plus saint que le dernier plateau du Liban, le tronc des cèdres, et le dôme de ces rameaux sacrés qui ont ombragé et ombragent encore tant de générations humaines, prononçant le nom de Dieu différemment, mais le reconnaissant partout dans ses oeuvres, et l'adorant dans des manifestations naturelles!
[..]
Je levai, alors, les yeux vers le ciel et je vis la crête blanche et dorée du Sannine qui planait dans le firmament au-dessus de nous... C’est une des plus magnifiques et plus douces impressions que j’aie ressenties dans mes longs voyages et puis, c’était la terre où j’allais enfin faire reposer dans un climat délicieux, sur quelque colline verdoyante tout ce que j’avais de plus cher au monde, ma femme et ma Julia (ma fille). "
Alphonse de Lamartine

"Le génie, comme le cèdre du Liban, pousse sur les cimes, il grandit et se renforce dans la tempête et non dans les bas-fonds."
Mariano José de Larra, Extrait de Articles de moeurs

"His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon"
The Bible (try to guess what is being described..........)

what do the lebanese think of the israelis

2006-07-22T14:03:00.000+02:00

After the thread "how the lebanese see the israelis", it was time to take a look on the other side.
I invite all the lebanese to come write how they see the israelis.
I hope every lebanese community will be represented.

To your keyboards, ladies and gentlemen !

Jean
--

Free Topic. General ideas and thoughts about this war.

2006-07-22T02:17:00.000+02:00

this thread is for everyone to express their thoughts, in a democratic and free environment.
All parties are welcome.

Meditation material on Lebanon

2006-07-20T19:30:00.000+02:00

what do you think of the lebanese saying:

Syria and Iran will fight Israel untill the last Lebanese ...

Disturbing news..

2006-07-19T16:05:00.000+02:00

This just in.
I have been informed that a group of southerners, arriving in a christian city north of beirut, found refuge in a school building. Afterwards, they got on the roof, and planted the hisbullah flag on the school roof.

The residents had to intervene harshly to make them take the flag off of the roof.

what do you think about that ?