Norman Finkelstein

Th TV station that hosted Norman Finkelstein for the interview is a Lebanon-based, Harriri-owned station. Just look at the difference. We have a foreign, American and Jewish person trying to convince and teach a Lebanese woman (march 14 traitor) about respect and honour. Ridigulous.

Civil Unrest

The civil war we were promised yesterday by Jumblat and Harriri is starting to materialise:

“”A convoy from the Future movement was driving by Berri’s residence. Apparently some heated words were exchanged with Berri’s security service and shots were fired.”

No injuries were reported and the security forces are conducting investigation of the incident

In Aley , a summer resort town , 10 miles east of Beirut , two people were wounded in clashes late Sunday between members of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party ( PSP) and rivals from the Lebanese Democratic Party (LDP) headed by the pro-Syrian opposition former MP Talal Arslan, security officials said.

2 people were wounded . One girl: Haneen Arij ( 12) and one man : Rami Seri- Eddin (22) according to the national News Agency.

The incidents came hours after Jumblatt warned the Hezbollah -led opposition that March 14 is ready for war and peace” (and also hours after Hariri bragged he will not remain with his hands ‘tied’)

I want to present two arguments, which resemble the same arguments presented by March 14 when the elctricity riots happened;

1) What were Hariri’s people doing in Ain el-Tineh district, which is Berri’s stronghold and residence, fully armed? I say to provoke and instigate a clash which will escalate into the war Hariri promised us Lebanese (you see, Hariri wants to be the new Wa3ad Al Sadeq in Lebanon, and through this Wa3ed he will bring us the social justice his party also promises). However, you will not hear this great peice of divine wisdom from Harriri this time he’ll come up with another ubsurd explanation for it – he always does.

2) Aley is the stronghold of Jumblat. Why is his area reaking havvoc and sporadic gunfights? It must be his fault because it’s his area. This is the argument presented by the idiot Jumblat after clashes took place in the Dahyeh – a Hezbollah stronghold. But ofcourse we all know who was responsible for that.

Do you see the ubsurdity and catch 22 in those arguments? That’s exactly why on Thursday (14 February) only 30 or 35 thousand people will turn up for the third anniversary of Hariri Seniors assasination. This is also why Hariri is ‘redistributing’ $25million in North Lebanon, in places like Tripoli [you see, Hariri is not a Billionnaire afterall, he's a hardcore socialist - just like Jumblat].

Hahaha, give us a break you nutcases.

“Ruling Bloc Urged Israel to Kill Sayyed Nasrallah”

The February 14 bloc insisted on exposing its role in the 2006 Israeli aggression against Lebanon, after some of its figures denied what the head of the Winograd commission said about the existence of a “classified part of the war report which was not revealed so as not to “endanger Israel’s security and foreign relations.” However, does Eliyahu Winograd need to fabricate these words as some February 14 figures have claimed?
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had made an extraordinary effort to ban the publication of his full statement to the Winograd Committee, because of the “sensitive information” it contains pertaining to the war.

Lebanons Botched Government Initiating Civil War

If Lebanon ever descends into civil war anytime soon, at least you would know who the first people to start it were. A week ago, a PSP (Walid Jumblats party) official was admitted to hospital with a bullet wound to his chest. Major news outlets such as LBC TV raced to take an account of what happened from this official. He claimed that he was driving in the streets of ‘Aramoun, only to be amushed by unknown gunmen who aparantly wanted him dead. This is the guy:

So far so good. Then, good old Al-Manar had to butt in and screw up this guys five minutes of sympathetic fame. I mean, just look at his face. Doesn’t he look like a victim to you? Wrong. The person you’re looking at is a notorious terrorist who took to the streets on that same day to terrorise the citizens of ‘Aramoun by randomly shooting everywhere.

This is the same man in action. He arrived with a few friends on Sunday just after midnight. He could be heard telling his friends to empty their magazines before the amy arrives, because they aren’t too far away. This is one of his friends brandishing his new American M4A1 Colt, and then aiming with it:

Then this is another of his militia friends:

Now, six days later and none of the people who were caught on camera been arrested or charged with a single offense. Even though the authorities have the name of the guy who faked it, the face of three of his terrorist collegues and even their car details:

What else do authorities need for a proper investigation to happen? Why was the former story, or should I say lie, linked to Syria, but this is not even being dealt with. Why isn’t the authorities rushing to find out who did this, then squash them and their line-of-command like bugs. Why don’t they link these people with the same militia/terrorist men who regularly terrorise the Lebanese people by firing at demonstrators and killing dozens so far. Do you want to know why? Because these scums are Waleed Jumblats men. Don’t take it from, take it from the scum who was wounded by his own friends – he gave his name and affiliation upon being asked on national television.

It is not surprising that this guy, Nizar Munthir (the wounded lier from the begining of this post), got shot by his own friends. Their irresponsible behaviour could be seen left and right. Just who shoots towards the ground at close proximity to a car packed with friends? Well, one of them thought it was a good idea:

If you want to download this video in WMV format, then click here. Or watch it here:

Despite all of this evidence, March 14 leaders act like the victims but ofcourse talk like prince’s of civil war. “You want anarchy? (We) welcome anarchy. You want war? (We) welcome war,” Jumblatt said, to the cheers of supporters. “There is no problem with weapons…” said Jumblatt. Harriri went on to say, “We don’t want a confrontation. But if we are dragged into one, we will not stay hands tied,” Hariri vowed in Tripoli. He earlier said in Beirut: “If confrontation is our destiny, then we stand ready.” Do you hear the tone? Compare that with Hezbollah’s, “We have been hearing an escalatory tone lately with readiness to confront; a tone that we did not hear during the 2006 Israeli aggression against Lebanon. The opposition cannot be drawn into internal sedition. They (loyalty bloc) need to find other ways to prove their competence to those who made them their proxies,” MP Mohammad Raad, the head of the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc said. “If unity is our destiny, then we stand ready for it,” he responded Saturday to Hariri’s pledge of confrontation. Jumblatt even went on to threaten launching attacks at the opposition, “We have no problem with weapons or with rockets which we will launch on you.” Predicting assassinations against the army in the region under his control, Jumblatt warned that there are”armed groups planning to carry out terrorist attacks against the army in the mountains.”"

“Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit suggested obliterating a Gaza neighborhood in response to Saturday’s Qassam fire on Sderot, saying “any other country would have already gone in and level the area, which is exactly what I thing the IDF should do – decide on a neighborhood in Gaza and level it.”"

Do you see the trend? Israel does, afterall, adopt terrorist tactics. Just in case you doubted it.

“Shas Minister Yitzhak Cohen called for a complete power cut in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, saying that “as long as Sderot is burning we must suffocate the infrastructures in Gaza until all those who fire Qassams will put down their weapons in broad daylight.”"

Do you see the trend? Israel does, afterall, adopt terrorist tactics. Just in case you doubted it.

Super Duper Tuesday

The outcomes of Super Tuesday in the US were as expected: A virtual tie between the two Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama whereas on the Republican camp, a win by John MacCain although Mike Huckabee did better than expected whereas Mitt Romney went home with the most to lose.

Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney are well known for their conservative and traditional ideology. Mike Huckabee manages to win many conservative votes from his rival, Mitt Romney, as well as from many Republicans disgruntled by MacCain’s relatively Liberal views. Hackabee may well go on to claim a political victory for being able to secure many votes over what many had predicted and was able to pocket a sizeable share of delegates even though his two rivals had shared every state save Iowa pre-Super Tuesday states. Even though Huckabees chances of overtaking any of his rivals seem extremely narrow, especially when it comes to MacCain, he as well as Romney are continuing their campaign to obviously secure a ‘running mate’ position as well as being chosen the Vice President – notice how Huckabee and Romney increasingly claim they will reach the White House as opposed to the Presidency.

As for the Democats, Hillary Clinton was the clear, albeit extremely narrow, victor on Tuesday, winning the biggest and most important states on offer and securing more delegates than Obama. She will go on to claim that she faced Obama’s full-throttle momentum accumilated after his victory in Iowa. However, Obama was also pleased, he won more states than Hillary and proved his ‘Beltway’ and nation-wide popularity. He will also be oblied to highlight the fact that his momentum is still in full swing and, even though hindered, was not stopped by even Hillary Clinton – a heavy-weight Democrat whom not-so-long-ago had double digit leads over any of the second-bests in the race.

The Republicans now have a decisive leader for the Presidential election whereas the Democrats don’t. This could prove to be damaging as the General Presidential Elections approach. The Republicans can now focus most of their energy at bashing at the Democratic nominees, while Clinton and Obama continue to bash at each other more ferociously in the days to come.

“Lebanon rappers give Christian message a hip-hop twist”

      

A mini-buzz has hit some Lebanese and non-Lebanese sites. I just want to ask you whether these two guys even look like rappers, or am I the only one who thinks they both look like freshies?

Both this site  and this site think they’re ‘rappers’.

Caramel

Here is the movie review in the New York Times.

Sectional elements in the Lebanese army have been widely blamed – whether directly or indirectly – of being responsible behind the killing of fellow Lebanese civilians on Sunday. This is exactly why Hezbollah refuses to be part of a divided, weak and relatively undisciplined army. It would be a disaster for Hezbollah’s effectiveness if they ever were incorporated into the army. Their deepest secrets would be easily accessible and fully available to the media within days.

Pascal’s Wager

Co-writer: Mahmood Hameed

“If you believe in God and turn out to be incorrect, you have lost nothing–but if you don’t believe in God and turn out to be incorrect, you will go to hell. Therefore it is foolish to be an atheist.”

This argument is known as Pascal’s Wager. It seems to be common sense, however it has several flaws.

Firstly, it does not indicate which religion to follow. Indeed, there are many mutually exclusive and contradictory religions out there. This is often described as the “avoiding the wrong hell” problem. If a person is a follower of one religion, he may end up in another religion’s version of hell.

Even if we assume that there’s a God, that doesn’t imply that there’s one unique God. Which should we believe in? If we believe in all of them, how will we decide which commandments to follow?

Breaking the Tension…

Although, sometimes I even wish Arab ‘leaders’ would throw paper-planes at Israel. At least it’s better than silence.

Mossad in Iraq

War on Error

The Silent Suffering

The yellow iron gate between the village and the main road was open that night. The Mercedes raced toward its destination; Sana held Khaled, panting and convulsing, in the back seat. After about fifteen minutes, they reached the Atara checkpoint north of Ramallah, one of the toughest and cruellest in the West Bank, especially of late. At this hour there were no other cars waiting.
The driver stopped at the stop sign in front of the checkpoint, as required. After about a minute, a soldier emerged and approached them. In the back seat, Khaled’s condition was worsening. His breath was getting shorter and his shaking was getting stronger.

“Where are you going?” the soldier asked. The driver replied in his meagre Hebrew, “To the hospital in Ramallah.” The soldier asked for the ID cards of all the passengers. Daoud appealed to him, “Before the ID’s, listen to me. We have a very sick baby in the car and I want to get him to the hospital on time, before it’s too late.”

The soldier heard him, says Daoud, but didn’t show any signs of interest. He didn’t even bother to glance in the back seat, to see their convulsing baby. “He didn’t care. He wasn’t deaf. He heard, but he didn’t even ask, ‘Where’s the baby?’”

The Mystery of Fatah Al-Islam

Fatah Al-Islam has been shrouded by mystery and confusion since the day it officially declared it’s existence. Their story and plight has become politicised by frankly every single party involved in Lebanese politics – this includes outsider party’s as well as national one. Sadly, the misinformation broadcast by every politician, political party, news outles and governments has led to the obstruction of unveiling the truth behind this militant organisation either due to the inaccuracy of information gathered or journalist and freelancers’ fear of being accused of lying and siding by a political party – and in effect have all their research disregarded as well as their record stained – if they dare declare their findings.

We’ll start with the basics. Fatah Al-Islam became known in May 2007 after it officially declared it’s existence and fought the Lebanese National Army in the same month. It’s leader is Shaker Al-Abssi, a notorious criminal and hardcore militant who used to be an ex-Fighter Pilot for the Libyan army, sentenced to death in absentia in Jordan as well as jailed in Syria for smuggling weapons and is now again wanted by the Syrian Authorities.

The March 14 camp in Lebanon (US/Western-backed) claims that Fatah Al-Islam is a small splinter or sleeper terrorist group in Lebanon under Syrian direction and support (including arms and finances). Meanwhile, the March 8 camp (Syrian/Iranian-backed) claims the contrary. That in fact, Fatah Al-Islam is a group created by the March 14 camp in order to weaken the relatively strong Army – essentially the only barrier to a confrontation with Hezbollah and total control in Lebanon.

Where Does Your Allegiance Lie?

A few days back, I was on PalTalk. I started going around different chat rooms until one of them, which was a Lebanese chat forum, caught my eye – or should I say, my ear. The discussion was between two Lebanese natives – one of them living in Brazil and the other in Germany.

The topic was – allegiance. Which of the countries you live in deserves allegiance, the native country or the one you reside in?

“George Maalouf, an energy analysts told Ya Libnan: “The irony in all this is that neither Hezbollah nor Amal supporters pay for the electricity in Lebanon. Electricity fee collectors are scared to go to the Hezbollah controlled areas for fear for their lives.”"

Let me clarify a few things that this comment infers. It infers;

1) If you support a specific political party in Lebanon, in this case Hezbollah or Amal, you automatically do not tend to pay your electricity bills. It is like a virus – once your allegiance is pledged to a specific party, you systematically gain a tendency to evade bills.

2) The comment also infers that all Hezbollah and Amal supporters live exclusively in ‘Hezbollah controlled’ areas of Lebanon. They are autonomous from the rest of the nation and only ever live under the control of their party.

3) Finally, the commentator assumes that fee collectors are afraid to ‘enter’ these areas because they may be at risk – therefore making a connected assumption that there is some kind of common rivalry between a fee collector and Hezbollah supporters, I guess they are both born to hate each other – whereas the rest of Lebanon and Lebanese absolutely love the bill collectors. They are similarly born with a common love for each other.

Objectiveness of Franjieh

The thing I love about Franjieh is his willingness and courage to criticise anything that he doesn’t like. He is honest and straight forward. He does not hide behind political jargon or political correctness to deliver his message. He says it loudly and clearly for everyone to hear. I also salute him for being one of the very few (if not the only one) politicians to criticise both Bkirki and Michelle Suleiman.

Lebanon’s Security Dependence

“A US security team including FBI experts began inspecting evidence Thursday from the car bomb blast that targeted a US Embassy vehicle this week in the first such attack in Lebanon in more than two decades.”

Not surprising. The fact that Lebanon only ever asks for the help of ‘FBI experts’ raises many eyebrows. Why is it that US ‘experts’ always investigate every crime in Lebanon. Are Lebanese ‘experts’ allowed to go into the US and investigate a crime in their profession? What about Lebanese ‘expert’ secret services agents? Do you see Britain or any other Western country asking for ‘experts’ from the US secret services?

Another flaw that surfaces is the state that Lebanon is in and its lack of true independence. If we rely on the outside to provide security (Lebanese government = US FBI agents, Hezbollah = Syria/Iran), then we have a huge problem in Lebanon. We can not protect ourselves let alone accomplish anything else.