"Surprise" : The Sword of Damocles

It's hanging over our heads, this wonderful "surprise". As much as I don't want the demonstrations and crap, sometimes I wish they'd get "the surprise" over and done with instead of the whole country hanging in this limbo. I'm sure I'm going to regret these words very soon when all hell breaks loose.

In the meantime every faction has rumors of other factions arming themselves to the teeth. I wouldn't be surprised if it were all so sadly true. I'm sure they all just hid their weapons from the civil war anyway, and are just bringing them all back out again. Even if it all miraculously settles down and we go back to some semblance of normality , we'll all know everyone is armed "and ready". Except for us, the poor old Average Joe who never took part in any wars/murders/ assassinations. I wonder how many of us are left in Lebanon. Put your hands up if you don't even own a hunting rifle. Poor me. Poor us . All we want is a country.

Today's examples of the idiots on both sides : one will drink our blood and the other will sell his blood.

from the safir newspaper
http://www.assafir.com/iso/today/front/2980.html

If the idiots on the one side don't disarm this will give the idiots on the other side the incentive to arm themselves.
Idiots all around, that's Lebanon.

What's happening within the FPM?

From the "daily star":
"However, seeming to break ranks from the Hizbullah-aligned Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), an MP from the Reform and Change parliamentary bloc urged the resigned ministers to return to their duties in order for Cabinet to pass the draft.
"We urge the resigned ministers and ... Lahoud to participate in the session in order to approve the international tribunal," Neamatallah Abi Nasr said after meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir Friday.
FPM leader MP Michel Aoun said Nasr has expressed a "personal opinion," but hoped it would help resolve the crisis. "


It was quite obvious that the biggest losers politically from the fallout over Pierre Gemayel's murder was the FPM. I could never understand the anti-syrian platform but pro-syrian stance in that movement. I've said it before and I'll say it agian, they seem to be a well educated decent party that truely cares for Lebanon, if only they'd jettison Aoun and his personal ambitions....

Never Again !

It's a bit depressing seeing the action unfold and reading the news about Lebanon these days. Everyone is starting to whisper those dreaded words: civil war. Are we really heading there? Could we honestly be that stupid? If we have another civil war Lebanon would be finished, forever.

I think whatever our problems, the Lebanese still have that lesson carved into their brains. Hopefully that one fact will save us. If you can't remember how awful civil war is, take a look at what is happening in Iraq and tell me if you want to go back to living like that?

Somebody do something, get this impasse over and done with. Yalla ya Nabih.....

Yet another funeral in martyr's square

Here we are again, at yet another funeral in martyr's square. You watch and all you can do is weep for your country.

Very good move by Berri showing up at the funeral, still trying to stay as centered as he possibly can. Who'd have ever thought Nabih would be a stabilizing force in the country? Isn't it ironic?

Despite it all, when I see Muslims, Christians, and Druze standing together like they did today, I think that well, maybe there's still hope for this country.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=77085

The full details of the offer. An "overly" fair deal I think, still they don't want it, what's with these people?

Another anti-Syrian Lebanese politician was assassinated today. Pierre Gemayel was killed in Sin el Fil. He was a minister in the current government.

I would like to see how the March 8 supporters explain this one. Considering who was killed and the method(-shooting), I seriously doubt they can blame their usual suspects this time. When will they admit that the Syrian regime only want a weak and subordinated Lebanon for them to rule and milk?

When will Lebanon ever rest?

Lebanon: Painting by Numbers

Apparently its all set for Thursday. That's Lebanon for you, always something going on to keep the citizenry entertained.

So if we assume that the best case scenario happens and the M14's and M8/M22 (14--->8) do not confront each other directly in street battles what is going to be the result of the demonstrations? What if the M14's decide not to give in to their demands? Will they demonstrate for ever? Will the jobs they quit be given to other people? Will we have to maneuver round them while driving in the streets of Beirut for the next few years?

The M14's have stated publicly today that they are willing to offer veto power as long as the tribunal is allowed to go through. If this is true then the M8's should jump on the offer since they have stated repeatedly that there aim never was to derail the tribunal. In the meantime we are still in a countdown for Thursday.............

An attachment doing the email rounds. I wonder who comes up with these things?
If you can't read it because it isn't too clear, just click on it and a clearer version comes up.

It's interesting going from blog to blog seeing what everybody's opinion is about the situation. It's funny, each an every one of us thinks we are so very right and anybody who disagrees is so very wrong. I wonder where this is all going to lead us. Nowhere good I think. An Iraq like situation I fear. I don't want this country to degenerate into sectarian violence. Whatever the reason. I want to curse all those who are pushing us in that direction. We've been there remember? It wan't good.
I find that I sit and mourn the lost potential that is Lebanon.

The Talks Fail

Well, as expected the talks failed.
Monday the 13th is just two days away.
Someone wake me up on the 14th and tell me if my country still exists.

This photo from al-balad newspaper shows an unexploded Israeli cluster bomb filled with an estimated 600 bomblets . Had this exploded it would have spread these bomblets all over the area, ready to kill any man, woman , or child who had the misfortune to disturb them. The Israelis deployed most of these in the last few days of the war when it was apparent that they were going to be leaving soon. Just a going away present I guess. Since then several men women and children have been killed and maimed by these bomblets. It is estimated that there are over a million bomblets left and that it is going to take about two years to clear them up. I think this is an optimistic view: in Vietnam they are still dying to this day from similar devices left over from the Vietnam war.

Let's leave the Lebanese and our politicians for a moment here. Let's go just a little to the south of us where a tragedy has been occurring more or less continuously since 1948.

Today the Israelis committed another War Crime. If anybody hasn't seen the images I suggest you log on to any one of the Arabic websites that will show you the dead women and children that were massacred in their sleep in Beit Hanoun.

My question is this, I understand that the Israelis are inhuman, I understand that the Americans are going to stand by their bastard child whatever happens, I understand that the Arabs have sunk so low on the totem pole that their opinion doesn't matter anymore, so my question is (perhaps naively) directed at the Europeans. Since you have money/organization/and clout why on earth are you not doing anything about this? How many more massacres are going to happen before you wake up? The Palestinian people are the tragedy of the modern world, and if you really espouse human rights then show them that all humans count, including them.

They're all in the meeting now, deciding the fate of our country.
One minute they're killing each other , the next they're having lunch together and cracking jokes. At our expense. One minute they're branding each other as traitors, and the next they're shaking hands with a smile.
Does anybody really care about the outcome of these negotiations any more? Isn't it just another part of the game till the next round of political maneuvering?
Is anybody as fed up as I am of the whole lot of them?

So can anybody hazard a guess at what is going to happen when a mob takes to the streets to get what they want?

Apparently it's all in the name of democracy. Yes, the new definition of democracy says if you can't get what you want, you threaten people to get it. Democracy means you put your country in jeopardy to achieve your aims.

Also democracy apparently only works in one direction, because when you decided unilaterally to take my country to war without consulting anybody, you chose to completely ignore democracy then. So be honest, you don't believe in democracy as you claim repeatedly, but instead you advocate a decidedly selective use of democracy that is only applied when you need it to achieve your own gains. You also criticize everyone else's involvement with foreigners and for some reason, you chose to ignore the fact that the Persian Iranians are foreigners too.

The tactical error you committed this summer saw you fall into a trap that had been set up to get you for months. It gave the Idiot Israelis the excuse they wanted to invade the country. Perhaps if you had consulted the rest of us this tragedy would have been averted.

What about the Aounists? Are they going to join the mob? Is this their really their vision of the educated, modern and forward thinking Lebanon? How can they bear being involved in this fiasco? How can they bear putting Lebanon in danger from disintegration whatever the reason?

All I can say , is God help us all.