OK, so we went down to the street, and it was packed, and diverse, and yeah I loved the sound effects and music… but seriously, “national unity government”? Come on. Let us get real, what is this “national unity” government supposed to be about? “You’re thieves but we’re OK with joining hands with you to ‘build’ Lebanon if you give us our share [based on what? sects?]”? …. no thanks. But hey, as long as you can topple this government all the more power to you.
There were some witty slogans, can’t remember all of them unfortunately.
I shall call this revolution… the fooooool revolution (no pun intended). Although I would’ve prefered if this were called the hummus revolution and the other one (the cedar or potato or hummus revolution) the foooooooool revolution, ‘cos you know, nothing can beat hummus. Not even falafel (apparently Israel’s “national snack”). OK OK maybe baba ghannouj (eggplant dip) comes close to beating it, but still, hummus > baba ghannouj. Hummus with pickles… OK… OK… let me go wave my flag.
But one thing is for sure, Siniora is toast. And toast does not go well with hummus. You might disagree but I beg to differ.
Blogging the Middle East 
the numbers have spoken. The minority is just that. A minorityh. Barely 400,000 people showed up, and all from one sect. Christians refused to be associated with baath and SSNP.
This backfired on NapoleAoun and Hassoun. Long live a free and independant Lebanon.
ZzzZZZzzzZZzzzz get over your sectarianism!!!!
Better yet, go and listen to the speech by Hariri Jr., about the awham, I mean the 1+ million who showed up vs the few thousand picture-burners from Kata’eb and LF who showed up to Gemayel’s funeral-festival, or maybe you’ve listened to it so much that you’ve come to believe the lie. Who cares about “Christians” “Shi3a” “Sunnis” “Druze”? Break free of your ancient, feudal hatreds. Better yet go and investigate who killed Tueni.
Hummus (from the syrian guy in LA – who had move his joint dang it) then falalfel then Armenia chicken. Best bet – all three together.
So the thing I’m wondering is the end game here. Does Nasrallah/Aoun think that Sinora will actually just resign at some point? Or do they expect these protests to grow to where they shut down Beruit for a while and then Sinora has to resign? Or are they hoping that the Security Forces will over react and allow a crisis? (Interesting piece in the LA Times today about the rapid growth in “Christian and Sunni” security forces since the summer’s “events”)
Or does Hizbullah really think Sinora will just have enough at a point and step down?
Well whatever Nasrallah, Aoun, and a dozen or more leaders and parties who fielded (literally) supporters today is irrelevant because it is simply too late for Siniora to resign. He was given ample time and chance. The end result will be either of the two scenarios: 1) Siniora fleeing to France; or 2) Siniora fleeing to Saudi Arabia. Take your pick. Or maybe there IS a third scenario, ‘cos he juts loves the Brit accent, maybe he would flee to the UK. We shall see which one it is, I vote for France. And “Sheikh Sa’ad” for Saudi Arabia. Or maybe the reverse… Still, you get the idea.
The “security forces” are Fatfat’s militias. I will tell you something, the security forces are ridiculous. I was standing near Hariri’s palace the other day, and there were 3-4 uniformed security forces personnel/officers on both sides of the street which is like 100 meters from the palace… I stood there for like 10 minutes. 1 minute into my stay, I noticed around 10 PLAINCLOTHES officers. And I don’t really have an eye for details. They are a joke. They might as well wear uniforms and hold signs saying “we are security forces”. Even a 3-year-old kid would be able to tell they are security forces and not regular people, and heck maybe even bypass them.
Ok, checking some Lebanese-English sites to see what the takes on the protest and stumble on the Franjieh “comment.” That’s too silly.
Bush and the US blessed, encouraged and financed the so called Orange revolution in Ukraine and then the Georgia one. Now their puppets are saying that what happened today is anathema???? hypocrites,full of double standards.
So your saying it will be a coup? He’s fleeing for his safety? Or he just up and packs his bags ’cause he’s tired of the whole thing?
He goes without a fight?
And what happens to the government?
I don’t get it. Is there the hope that there will be enough of a groundswell, ala the Orange rev. that new elections are made inevitable. But Sinora won’t call them, so he leaves, making it look like a coup?
It sounded like Jumblatt had an interesting theory behind the protests: so Lebanon had to pull some regular army out of the south – I guess the idea is Hizbullah uses that pullback to reassert/increase its presence?
hummos is ALWAYS better than baba ghanouj.
Well, a coup or not a coup, mincing words doesn’t do anyone any good at this point. 😉
So if you want to call it a coup, you can call it a coup. I personally prefer fava beans.
I guess he will have to flee unless he wants to be tried. 🙂 Good thing he doesn’t live in KSA, he might’ve been executed by now for any reason if such a thing had happened there (but I am dreaming – and I can tell it’s not an American dream). Another thing to glorify the USA-KSA-Hariri axis for.
Ah, no, haha… H.A doesn’t really care about the army or about the UNIFIL, at least in so far as the UNIFIL does not violate the “rules” of engagement, and trust me there was an understanding on that one between H.A and UNIFIL before the new soldiers arrived.
New elections are inevitable of course. The only question is, when. I am guessing this whole Siniora fiasco won’t last too long.
The ministers are holed up in the Grand Serail. How long can they last there? This is exhibiting more and more the characteristics of the siege of Jerusalem by Salahuddin. Umm. And Siniora thinks he is Balian of Ibilin.
Lazarus – yes yes, although the baba ghanouj that my mom prepares… now that’s a taste of heaven if any! 😛
Baba ghanouj + tomatoes + cucumbers = ? / 10. 😀
it’s the double standard that gets me upset. You heard Condi? she IS meddling in our affairs. She and Bush supported the Ukrainians and al when it was convienent to them, hailed democracy and the voice of the people. But when the Hizb goes to the street, it becomes a sin in their eyes I do not get it!! we the people are not sooo stupid: we can assess the hypocrisy . I think that the Hizb was stabbed in the back by the 14 March movement and they have all the right to react. Will their reaction plans be successful? I do not know. But I live outside Lebanon, in the diaspora, and discoved the Hizb lately. Well as far as I am concerned their discourse seem to me the most intelligent, disciplined, logical so far. That is why I am with them. All the others are dying feodal groups, ignoring the need of the masses, engulfed in a horrid corruption and arrogance.
Bindu, agreed. In fact Ukraine is the comparison everyone has been bringing up. Everyone is aware of the hypocrisy. The problem is that the ones who hold the reins of power are unwilling to admit it (naturally, to maintain their power position) and their followers are too idiotic to think for themselves.
dude ….
i shall call you MINI ANGRY ARAB !!!
WTF ?!?!?! its like it aint you who’s writing anymore ….u keep on using the rhetoric of that idiot …and now ur using his lame jokes !!!!
dee3anik !!
Ya Neruda.. 7terna ba2a, you don’t like it if I support some elements of the anti-government movement, you don’t like it if I criticize it, 7terna 3an jad 7terna. El hay2a ento jame3a la badda ta3mol shi, w la badda tkhalle hada ya3mol shi, la2anno ento ma7kumin (ma ba3ref meen elli bye7kemkon, nshallah msh el 7akim wa la el ma7kame el duwaliyye) iza sa77a el ta3bir. FA IZA MANKON 2ADREEN TA3MLO SHI, ZI70 W KHALLO EL 3ALAM T3ABBER 3AN RA2YA. Sayrin jame3a Staliniyye… tfu malla jame3a yassariyye ento.
reread what i wrote …
seems like u have ur own ready reply whenever u see my name …..i shall call u the
autoreplier!
Re-read what i said ……was criticizing the words ….angry arab’s words !!
Havent u studied that plagiarism is wrong ???
haha.. plagiarism? actually As’ad didn’t call this the fooool revolution, he called the other one the hummus revolution, where’s the plagiarism in that? unless you’re saying he has the copyright now on all foodstuff? lol make more sense .. anyway, did you know that 100% of private university students in Lebanon (the ones whose mamas and papas are paying their tuition so they can wear their cocktail party outfits to uni) don’t know how to do PROPER citation, and 99.9% of them don’t know how to do citation AT ALL? and since when are revolutionaries so pedantic? don’t you have better things to do than point out my *gasp* plagiarism? tsk tsk, some revolution you’ve been cooking. but then again as a “comrade” said, BH provides the space for budding “activists”. activist alright… but what act did you commit today, other than eating, saying “comrade” some 50 times (or more if you are a certain person, which you are not…), smoking, and a few other things that are far from revolutionary? ah yes, you are a “budding” activist, we should give you more space & time. can’t wait to see you in full bloom, but then again i realize that i might not live to see that day, in this harsh world of ours, where we wait and wait, and no “marxist” ever gives us any solution… might get boring after a while, haven’t you noticed? maybe you will notice when you are in full bloom, but sadly by then as I said i might not be alive.
well, at least you didn’t see class struggle in my “plagiarism”, that’s a good sign, at least.
sorry to have shattered your barbie & ken world.
What is Aoun’s deal in all of this? From the little I know, he was reportedly “anti Syrian” and wouldn’t seem a natural ally with Hizbullah or Amal. At the same time, from what I’ve seen, he leads one of, if not the biggest, Xian block in Lebanon, so he’s a bit of a kingmaker/spoiler, no? Did he throw in with Hizbullah because he figured themto win eventually or does he have real issues with the March 14/Future crowd?
Thanks in advance.
Tired
wait a minute!!
i’ll get my psychology major friend …i’m sure she knows !!!
i think i encountered this before ….but i forgot what kind of illogical fallacy u have made ….
and the psychological problems that are embedded in ur responses !
Alas, if angry arab is ur role model …i would only feel sorry for you!!!
Go eat ur pie now……and the next time ur in class …listen to fawwaz carefully !!
Psychological problems? Dude. Go smoke. You need to get a new weed dealer. Let me know if I can help out.
As’ad is not my role model. I don’t have role models. I bash anyone and everyone without reservations, where I see fit. I don’t need to bash “equally”, because not everything is equally bashable, unlike what some people (“comrades”) seem to think.
And Fawwaz is not exactly god, not that there is any god, but to some people (“comrades”) there apparently are gods (and goddesses) in human shape. What do they call these anyway? Messiahs? Prophets? I donno, you tell me, I’m not the one idolizing people unlike the folks (“comrades”) you seem intent on defending to death (not that I am in any way a physical threat though I’ve battled it out with more than 6-7 cops at one time). 😀
Tired —
Aoun … is a mixed bag.
He is in many ways an amalgamation of contradictions… some criticisms of him are indeed valid. He is definitely not a secular leader as he claims he is, his speech and his party orientation is definitely sectarian. But he does seem to have a beef with March(Feb??) 14, and especially the election law that meant that “the Christians” would be voted in with “Muslim votes”…….
Who knows what his real intentions are, but in my opinion it is not just a political/strategic calculation. The amount of attacks and defamation he & FPM (his party) have come under since their understanding (and now outright alliance as opposition) with HezbAllah doesn’t really lend support to the argument that he did it to get support. So far we have not seen much from FPM because they have not really been part of the cabinet, so their agendas are only on paper and have not been given the chance to be put into practice, so that we can assess them. But he (and FPM) claim that they are for opening corruption files and so on, something that no one wants to happen, perhaps other than HezbAllah. This greatly worries Amal in my opinion, Nabih Berri is not exactly an angel in that regard… nor are the Feb. 14 people, Jumblatt, Hariri, Siniora, etc. at the top of the list. Add to that the issue of Fatfat’s record as interior minister under whose mandate 2 kids were shot and killed, the army/security forces served tea to the Israelis in Marja’ayoun, and the 1000+ civilian convoy that was given clearance to leave Marja’ayoun after the Israelis entered the town was bombed by the Israelis… Not that Saba’a’s record is any better.
Aoun sees them as a bunch of incompetents who retained their power and seats after Syrian withdrawal. I’m not sure if he has any competents himself, we certainly have not seen an elaboration on the economic principles and agendas. He is definitely not good news for the poor segments of the society, but he *might* be crucial in the fight against corruption.
Ironically Aoun is now defined as “pro-Syrian” or grouped under “HezbAllah and its pro-Syrian allies” in western press. This is laughable. In fact, I used to say, Aoun is racist. He has definitely toned down that speech since the withdrawal, and taken a more pragmatic approach, but he remains, at core, racist, and not just towards the Syrians… but – if it makes any sense – he’s not the type of racist who pays (or at leasts encourages) people to roam the streets and beat up and kill Syrian workers like the feb. 14 has been doing.
Thanks for that, although I can’t say I understand the specific rational of the alliance any better.
How important (if at all) is he to Hizbullah’s “unity” concept? If he left for any reason, is Hizbullah/Amal’s support almost all Shia at the point?
The rationale of the alliance is that there are huge segments of Leb. society that are sick and tired of the “march 14” talking and not translating words into actions and in fact doing the EXACT opposite of their words…. these people (the “march 14”) want to extend their rule indefinitely but don’t want to do anything in return. Not even give the people a bunch of services to put them to sleep for some time. Instead all that we hear is “the truth”, “we will not forget”, etc., and every time anyone questions their behaviour they accuse them of being “pro-Syrian”, or seeking to stop the tribunal. Well it’s become a broken record, and people are just SICK of it. Frankly if I had to choose between a proven incompetent and an untried incompetent, I would go for the SECOND. I think the sectarian, partisan elements are being highlighted too much, at the expense of the independents or those who are down there for economic, etc. reasons (even if they might be supportive of one party or another). People seem to forget that being a partisan does NOT mean one ceases to have worries about economic, social, safety issues…
Well it’s not just Aoun who is taking part in this opposition movement, it’s also Frangieh (he is Christian if it matters) and his party Al-Marada, who has a significant following (hailing from the north), and also many Sunnis and Druze, the LCP (Leb. “Communist” Party) (hardly communist IMO), many independents who are against this govn’t for many reasons, etc. So it would not just be H.A/Amal left… Personally, I am supportive of this movement 100%. It’s important to get rid of this government NOW because if it fails, the next round of opposition will be even UGLIER. If people think this is ugly, they better brace themselves for what will come IF the government does not fall.
That’s interesting. You 100% support the group that you think will turn violent if they don’t succeed peacefully.
Doesn’t seem like there’s much real hope for the later. Do you think the groups in power will really just walk away, especially if they are as corrupt as it is suggested.
Actually I never said it was HezbAllah that would turn violent. So far we have seen the opposite, and there is every indication – seeing the discipline of HezbAllah (which has its own crowd control people down at the square where the protests/sit-ins are taking place) – that the ugly turn will be initiated and perpetuated by the hooligan followers of those who are holding the reins at the moment (of course, with their encouragement, funding, and collaboration).
They will not just walk away, of course, which is why Lebanon will witness a new phase this Sunday.
What’s the deal with the Syrian stone throwers that were arrested?
You said the next round of opposition will be even uglier. But isn’t Hizbullah the “opposition” or am I reading this wrong?
I meant it differently than what you understood. I meant that the next round in Lebanon will be even uglier. I did not mean that the opposition will turn it ugly, but rather, that whatever the opposition does will be faced with violence, because the other side, namely the loyalists (ironic that now we call them loyalists, talk about a switch in roles and getting a taste of one’s own medicine 😀 ) are unwilling to put up with the opposition, and the closer the opposition comes to toppling this corrupt government the more afraid they will become… fear can push people to do the unthinkable.
Syrian stone throwers? Maybe you’re living on Mars, but the stone throwers were not Syrians. They were Lebanese and they were Hariri supporters.
I was just repeating what I read in Y Liban I think it was… It was claimed they were throwing stones from a mosque. (Although now wthat they’ve found water, I could be convinced that Mars has it’s attractions.)
I wondered if it had been reported as such anywhere else.
And yeah, I did read what you wrote differently. So, big stuff planned for the weekend. What’s the endgame here? Certainly this hurts the merchentile class, but no one in the sitting government seems to be overly shaken yet.
Nashrallah et al indicate they have “surprises.” How are the “Harari supporters” holding up? At what point does this thing tip over and what is the outcome when/if real street battles start?
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