Amal-Hope

Amal – Hope
December 2006
Beirut, Lebanon

The French mandate-era Lebanese army with its rusty artillery and rifles as old as my gramma is being hailed as a hero for “confronting” the IDF. Give me a fucking break.  You call this an army?  Why not follow the lead of the security forces and hire a tea expert? At least that would be a good investment.

This is the same army that folded its arms and did nothing while it too was under fire during the July war. I still remember the “defense” minister saying that “when” the IDF invades the army would fight alongside HezbAllah against the IDF. I guess that “when” never came true for our “defense” minister. Yalla bassita, as they say, el telte sebte.

Badna N’ish- Part IV

Numbers speak louder than words:

• 5 is the number of half-meter-deep potholes in the middle of the Dawra-Nahr el-mot highway, one of which my car ‘experienced’ today. Hey, my car loves life too.
• 3 is the number of months those potholes have been there and no one has bothered to fill them up or patch them up.
• 4 is the number of times the power was on and off in the past 5 minutes.
• 2 is the number of lanes that the south-north “highway” near Mar Mikha’el (after MTC touch building) will be reduced to, to make way for more lanes for the opposite side.
• 2 is the number of years they have been working on constructing a bridge on the highway and are not halfway done with it.
• 0 is the number of photos I was allowed to take of Wadi Abu Jmil, because apparently it is a security risk.

Also see: Part I, Part II, Part III

Badna N’ish- Part III

Electricity.

The scale by which one can judge the state of this country.

I have heard several people say, when we have electricity for almost 24/24 in Lebanon, that’s when we will know that there is hope for this country.

Lest you harbour any illusions about the competence of this government (and past governments), here are some statistics, which will open your eyes to the truth:

• In 2004, the Ministry of Energy and Water received 1.1% of the total government expenditure, only 1.5 times more than the amount allocated to the “national lottery” (0.7%).
• This number dropped to 0.5% of the expenditure in 2005, whereas the “national lottery” received a whopping 0.7% of the expenditure.
• It must be noted that in 2005 the Electricité du Liban (EDL) received a loan from the Ministry of Finance, which amounted to 9% of the total government expenditure for the year.
• In 2003, the total electricity production in Lebanon was 10.55 TWh (Terawatt-hours).
• In the 3-R document “Recovery, Reconstruction, and Reform” prepared especially for the occasion of Paris-III, the government complains that it allocated some $650 million to the EDL. $650 million for heaven’s sake.
• The power has been off since midnight (it’s 8:25 pm now).
• We had more power during the summer war than we do now, despite the months-long siege and the bombing of the Jiyye fuel storage facilities.

Also see: Part I, Part II

Badna N’ish- Part II

Click to enlarge.

Ila eyn? (where to?) — a phrase popularized by Walid Jumblat (Walid beik)

 Also see: Part I

Badna N’ish- Part I

As part of the “Badna N’ish” (we want to live) awareness campaign in support of the democratically elected government (and democratically elected governments under the Pax Syriana-Americana) I have decided to share Lebanese statistics from time to time. This is the first installment. Enjoy.

• Only 12.7% of government expenditure (or 2.6% of GDP) goes to education, compared to 20% in Djibouti,  Morocco, Oman, and UAE.
• Only 10% of Lebanese pre-primary teachers have received training. This is the same number as in Sudan and Tunisia, whereas in Syria it is 22%. In contrast, all pre-primary teachers in Iraq, Kuwait, Mauritania, Oman, and the Palestinian territories have received pedagogical training.
• Only 13% of Lebanese primary teachers have received training, compared to 61% in UAE, 98% in Algeria, 100% in Iraq, Kuwait, Mauritania, and Oman.
• Grade repetition in primary education in Lebanon is 11% of the total number of enrolled students in that level, on par with Algeria, Djibouti, Mauritania, and Morocco.
• The percentage of enrolment in primary education in Lebanon dropped 1% between 1999 and 2004, whereas in most other countries the percentage increased by more than 5%.
• 5% of Lebanese primary school age children are out of school.

Don’t shoot the messenger. My source is the UNESCO.

“Unity”

Beirut, December 8, 2006

(Slight re-touching for removal of spots in upper left corner; reduced from original size)

“I myself have likened Lebanon to the lung through which the problems of the area breathe. Thus, Lebanon was not created to be a national home for its citizens but as a laboratory for international political experiments in the region. Lebanon is a listening post for monitoring all the political trends that exist in the Arab world at least, perhaps even in the Islamic world. It is this function, rather than aspirations for democracy, that explains the political freedom enjoyed by all parties and flags represented in Lebanon. The freedom facilitates the observation as well as the interference, with the experiment sometimes requiring the heating up of a conflict between groups or trends to see how such matters can be managed or played out.”

-ٍSayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, May 1995

How do…

…cluster bombs provide “self-defense in dealing with rockets designed to kill Israeli citizens“?

“Promotional” balloons?

Promotional balloons? They don’t look “promotional” to me.

البرنامج الإقتصادي لحزب الله

هل من برنامج اقتصادي لحزب الله؟

منشور صادر عن التجمّع اليساري من أجل التغيير

يمثل حزب الله طائفة كبيرة، كانت وما زالت تشكل إطار الحرمان الأكبر، وأماكن تواجدها وخصوصاً في ضاحية بيروت الجنوبية تشكل حزام البؤس الأكبر في لبنان. وبالرغم من هذا الواقع الاقتصادي السيّئ الذي يعاني منه أغلب مناصري “حزب الله”، نراه بعيداً كل البعد عن قضاياهم.
فهو لا يبدي ولا يظهر أبداً إلى العلن رأيه بالمشاريع الاقتصادية وبالقضايا الاقتصادية التي تطرح على النقاش في البلد. ولكن ما يبدو جلياً من خلال الأداء السياسي ومن خلال المطالب التي يحملها أنه موافق على السياسة العامة الاقتصادية التي تتجه لها الحكومات المتتالية، ولم نراه يوماً ممانعاً لأي قرار حكومي، فهو في غالب الأحيان محايد أقرب إلى الموافقة.
مثلاً، ما هو موقف “حزب الله” من الخصخصة (الضمان الاجتماعي، الجامعة اللبنانية، القطاعات الصحية)؟ لم نرى في أي يوم أنه أعلن موقفاً صريحاً بهذا الخصوص… إذاً، الموافقة! وما هو موقف حزب الله من موضوع الاتحادات العمالية والمطالب العمالية بالإجمال؟
مثلاً، ففي خضم المظاهرات التي دعا إليها الاتحاد العمالي والعديد من النقابات بعد العام 2000 أمام مجلس الوزراء في المتحف وفي العديد من المناطق اللبنانية، وخصوصاً في حي السلم التي وقعت فيها مجزرة بحق المتظاهرين وقع على أثرها خمسة شهداء ومجموعة كبيرة من الجرحى ومن المعروف إن هذه المنطقة تعتبر منطقة أساسية لجماهير حزب الله، فإن ما ظهر جلياً هو أن الحزب لم يؤازر المظاهرات ولم يعلن أبداً تأييده لهذه الفئات الشعبية، وهو لم يحل دون وقوع المجزرة. كانت مؤازرته للجيش في وجه المتظاهرين واضحة، وقد ظهر ذلك من خلال إعطاء المظاهرات الطابع السياسي وإبعاد عنها كل طابع مطلبي في محاولة لإخفاء الواقع المر التي تعيشه هذه المناطق، وزيارة بسيطة لهذه المنطقة تظهر حجم المعاناة والبؤس الذي تعانيه، إلا أننا رأينا أن حزب الله اتخذ موقف الرافض للمظاهرة وذلك لحماية اعتبارات سياسية وتحالفية تخصه.
لم يتغير المشهد اليوم… فبعد ست سنوات من التحرير وبعد حرب دامية على لبنان تحقق فيها انتصاراً مهماً للمقاومة، وبعد أن كان الشعب باختلاف ألوانه مسانداً لهذه المقاومة وله الدور الأساسي في انتصارها، شاهدنا حي السلم جديد في منطقة الرمل العالي حيث ترك حزب الله مناصريه وجماهيره فريسة للقوى الأمنية التي أطلقت النار، مجددا، على المتظاهرين بحجة وقف مخالفات البناء وقتلت طفلين لم يكن ذنبهما سوى أنهم كانوا “في الطريق“. مرة أخرى لم نرى حزب الله إلا مرافقاً لقوى الأمن بعد حصول ما لم تعرف تفاصيله بعد وكانت نتيجته إخماد النيران على جثة الطفلين.
ولعل النزاع الحالي الذي تشهده الساحة اللبنانية هو أبرز مثل على غياب الخطة الاقتصادية لدى حزب الله. فهو قد أثار أزمة على الصعيد المحلي، مضمونها مقاعد في مجلس الوزراء لحلفائه. دعا الناس إلى إسقاط الحكومة، من أجل مقاعد وزارية لحلفاء ساندوه خلال فترة الحرب.
لا نرى أبداً خطة اقتصادية بديلة لسياسة الحكومة. لا نرى أبداً حلاً لمشكلة الفساد الإداري المستشري في البلاد. لا نرى حلاً للأزمات الاقتصادية المتفاقمة يوماً بعد يوم. إسقاط الحكومة وفقط… سياسة اقتصادية ذاتها، بعيدة عن المشاكل الاقتصادية والهموم التي تعاني منه الفئات الشعبية اللبنانية.
هل سيستمر حزب الله بتقديم هذا الطرح الاقتصادي غير المبالي بالمشاكل الاقتصادية والمحايد الذي لا يعلن الرفض. ما هو يا ترى المشروع الذي سيقدّمه إلى مناصريه بعد انتهاء الاحتلال الإسرائيلي أو بعد نزع السلاح؟ هل سيتحول إلى حزب سياسي حاكم بعيد كل البعد عن مشاكل مناصريه أم أنه سيطرح مشروعاً اقتصادياً يتناسب مع أوضاع مناصريه وحالتهم الاقتصادية؟
سؤال ينتظر الإجابة ليس من حزب الله بل من جميع الذين يتبعون أحزاباً فقط لأنها “حزب الطايفة”!

**

بعض الملاحظات:

* حزب الله كان يشكّل جزءاً من “المعارضة” (اذا صحّ التعبير) ضدّ البرامج الإقتصادية التي تبنّاها رفيق الحريري سنة 1992. وفي انتخابات 1996 كان لدى الحزب “برنامجاً” اقتصادياً وصحياً وتعليمياً. أمّا في انتخابات الـ2000 فقد شدّد الحزب الناحية الإقتصادية، وقدّم العديد من النقاط حول المشاكل الإقتصادية وكيفية معالجتها خصوصاً في البقاع وعكّار… جميع هذه المنشورات الإنتخابية تتحدّث عن المشاكل والأمور الأكثر أهمية، مثل الضمان الإجتماعي، الزراعة، القطاع الصحي والتعليمي (والجامعة اللبنانية)، الخ.. اذاً، إدّعاءات التجمّع اليساري من أجل التغيير عن عدم اتخاذ الحزب موقفاً (لا أعلم ما اللذي تعنون بـ”صريح”) حول هذه الأمور ليست دقيقة.

* تتحدّثون عن “خطة اقتصادية بديلة لسياسة الحكومة” وكأنّ الحكومة لديها خطة اقتصادية. أين هذه الخطة التي تشيرون اليها؟ لأنني لا أرى أي خطة، كل ما أرى هي كارثة انسانية لا توصف. أمّا حل مشكلة الفساد، فهذا أيضاً يقع ضمن البرامج الإنتخابية.

* هل كلّ من لا يقدّم نسخة طبق الأصل لبرامجكم ( هذا اذا كان لديكم خطط او برامج) يصبح غير مبالياً بالمشاكل الإقتصادية؟؟

* عملوا معروف، المرّة الجايي اقرأوا حول الموضوع قبل ما تتفلسفوا!!!

ثقافة السلام

دروس مجّانية في ثقافة السلام وحبّ الحياة…

Free lessons in culture of peace and love of life.

Walid beik has “sources”. OK.

Breaking news: Walid beik (Jumblatt) has massader (sources).

قالت مصادر بأن المعادلة التي نجمت عن أحداث يوم الخميس أظهرت أنه لم يعد هناك معارضة متنوعة، بل أن المشهد صار يقتصر على حزب الله في مواجهة باقي اللبنانيين، وأن ليس هناك أي قدرة لحلفائه على التحرك لدعمه.

Sources said that the equation that came about after the events of Thursday showed that there no longer is a diverse opposition, but rather that the scene has become limited to HezbAllah in confrontation with the rest of the Lebanese, and that there is no ability on the part of its allies to mobilize to support it.

**

 عبرت أوساط في الطائفة الشيعية عن استيائها لما آلت إليه الأمور، وعن رفضها لقيادة حسن نصر الله لشؤون الطائفة، إضافة إلى أن هناك ضرورة لاستعادة دور الرئيس نبيه بري من خلال الدعوة لفتح دورة استثنائية لمجلس النواب.

Circles in the Shi’ite sect expressed their distress at the way things turned out, and their rejection of the command of Hassan Nasrallah of the affairs of the sect, in addition to the need to restore the role of Nabih Berri by calling for the opening of an extraordinary session in the parliament.

**

 في ضوء ذلك ذكرت كشفت مطلعة أن ميليشيا حزب الله ما زال يحضر كوادره العسكرية والأمنية للانتشار المسلح في بيروت وبعض المناطق المسيحية التابعة للجنرال عون لا سيما في منطقة المتن وبعبدا والحدث وكفرشيما وأن ساعة الصفر للتحرك تنتظر إشارة إقليمية من إيران وسوريا ،وهناك يقين عند جميع المسؤولين في لبنان والخارج أن استخدام السلاح الإيراني السوري الموجود في حوزة ميليشيا حزب الله في مواجهة اللبنانيين بات أمراً محسوماً عند القوى الانقلابية.

In this light informed [missing word – sources?] stated unconvered that the militia of HezbAllah is still preparing its military and security cadres for armed deployment in Beirut and in certain Christian areas of General Aoun, especially in the area of Metn, Ba’abda, Hadath, and Kfarshima, and that the zero hour to move awaits a regional signal from Iran and Syria, and there is a sense of certainty among leaders in Lebanon and abroad that the use of the Iranian Syrian weapon in the possession of the militia of HezbAllah against the Lebanese is a done deal for the coup forces.

**

وتابعت هذه المصادر بالقول أن القوى الوطنية في لبنان داخل 14 آذار حسمت قرارها بشكل واضح بعدم الخضوع للترهيب السوري الإيراني الهادف للهيمنة على كل مؤسسات ومقدرات الدولة اللبنانية التي يريدونها مزرعة و دويلة يحكمها فعلياً بالوكالة عنهم حزب الله، وهناك استعدادات حثيثة على الأرض لقوى 14 آذار لمواجهة شتى الاحتمالات،وهذه القوى عازمة على للتصدي بكل قوة لمواجهة الانقلاب العسكري على الدستور والقوانين واتفاق الطائف والحياة الديموقراطية في لبنان،وأن أي تصعيد مهما كان نوعه من قبل قوى ما يسمى بالمعارضة سوف يكون الرد عليه بتصعيد اكبر مباشر من قبل الشعب اللبناني الذي لن يرضى بعودة الوصاية السورية – الإيرانية للتسلط عليهم وعلى كراماتهم وهم على استعداد لتقديم الشهداء وشتى التضحيات في سبيل صيانة وحدة لبنان وحريته وسيادته واستقلاله.

These sources continued by saying that the national forces in Lebanon within the March 14 has resolved clearly not to submit to Syrian Iranian terrorizing, which aims at gaining control over all the institutions and fortunes of the Lebanese stte, which they want to be a farm and a statelet which in reality would be run by proxy by HezbAllah; and there are strenuous preparations on the ground by the forces of March 14 to confront all possibilities, and these forces are determined to confront the coup d’etat on the constitution and laws and the Ta’ef agreement and the democratic life in Lebanon, and that any escalation of whatever nature on the part of the so-called opposition will be responded to by a bigger direct escalation from the Lebanese people, who will not be satisfied with the return of the Syrian-Iranian custodianship to dominate them and their dignities, and they are ready to offer martyrs and all sorts of sacrifices for the sake of maintaining the unity of Lebanon and its freedom, sovereignty, and independence.

**

من جهة أخرى، قال مصدر عربي إلى متى يمكن السكوت عن الانتهاكات الإيرانية التي تحصل في لبنان وأكد هذا المصدر أن أي تصعيد جديد في لبنان من قبل ميليشيا حزب الله وعصاباته سيكون هدفه إسقاط الهوية العربية في لبنان لخدمة الأطماع الإيرانية في المنطقة العربية، سوف يقابله تحرك عربي دولي من أجل وضع حد للحالة الشاذة المتمثلة بميلشيا حزب الله والتي أصبح من الضروري محاسبة مسؤوليها عن ارتكاباتهم الفظيعة بحق اللبنانيين والتي كانت نتيجتها سقوط الشهداء والجرحى فضلاً عن الأضرار الفادحة في تدمير عمران لبنان وبنيانه الاقتصادي والمالي.

On the other hand, an Arab source said, until when can there be silence on the Iranian violations that are taking place in Lebanon; and this source affirmed that any new escalation in Lebanon by the militia of HezbAllah and its gangs will be with the goal of toppling the Arab identity in Lebanon to serve the Iranian ambitions in the Arab region, and will be offset by an international Arab movement to put an end to the anomaly of the militia of HezbAllah; it has become necessary to hold its leaders accountable for their terrible actions against the Lebanese, and which resulted in martyrs and injured, as well as tremendous damages in the destruction of the civic, economic, and financial infrastructures.

**

قالت مصادر أن قوى ما يسمي بالمعارضة لا سيما ميليشيا «حزب الله» وأطراف أخرى في الفريق الانقلابي لم يكن في حساباتهم إنهاء الإضراب العام ووقف الخطوات الاحتجاجية ليل الثلثاء الماضي بعدما كانوا قرروا مواصلة تحركهم التصعيدي لأيام متعددة بالتزامن مع عقد مؤتمر «باريس –3»، خصوصاً بعدما كان قد أعلن العماد ميشال عون أن اليوم التالي للاضراب سيكون «أشد قوة» وأن السيد نصر الله كان قد تحدى الأكثرية والحكومة ضارباً عبعرض الحائط كل القيم الديموقراطية وخصوصية العيش المشترك في لبنان بالقول: «سنرى غداً وبعده وبعده…».

Sources said that the so-called opposition forces, especially the militia “HezbAllah” and other sides in the coup d’etat team did not have in their calculations the ending of the general strike and the halt to the protest steps Tuesday night, after they had decided to continue their escalalatory movement for a number of days concurrent with the “Paris-3” conference, especially after General Aoun had announced that the next day of the strike would be “stronger” and Sayyed Nasrallah had challenged the majority and the government, slamming against the wall all the values of democracy and the specificity of living together in Lebanon by saying: “we will see tomorrow and the day after and the one after.”

**

بيروت سوف تنتصر على عصابات النظام السوري وأحمدي نجاد. سوف ينتصر لبنان. بيروت لن تحترق.

Beirut will be victorious against the gangs of the Syrian regime and Ahmadinejad. Lebanon will be victorious. Beirut will not burn (sic!).

No sources on that one…

طيّب، عمسؤوليتَك وليد بيك!!!

They Love Life

They Love Life

They love life

They love life…so they burn Orange (FPM) kiosks

The peak of civilization

“They had to take matters into their own hands.” OK. Enjoy your Civilized Revolutionaries.

(Sorry ‘ammo Gea’gea, I had to post these pics, even though I did get them from Syrian Mukhabarat.)

On Obsessions

So I was watching Geagea’s press conference. Boy, that guy has some obsessions. He appears to be going through many sleepless nights over Tayyar’s popularity and the fact that nothing he is doing lately has been successful in pushing the majority of Christians towards the Lebanese Forces, or in convincing them to believe his words again; as they say, once a militia, always a militia. He continuously focused on tayyar, and like a schoolboy proud to have done his homework showed some pictures of Tayyar supporters burning tires. Like we haven’t seen them. Like these pictures were taken “in secret”. Like the media was not covering the whole thing since the early hours of the morning. Amazing. He kept saying sarcastically every time he showed a new photo, “this is civilized”. He said that the reason LFers [militiamen] had been on the streets since 5 am was that the security forces were not doing anything to open the roads so that people would be able to go to work, and so they had to take matters into their own hands. Notice the contradiction. First, who goes to work at 5 am? Not a lot of people, I reckon. Second, how did they know that the security forces did/would not do anything, to go down to the streets at 5 am? No answers. He also talked about the photo that appeared in Al-Akhbar, of a LF militiaman with a gun. Here he totally lost it. He said that Al-Akhbar newspaper works with Syrian mukhabarat (intelligence), and that the photo was given to them by the Syrian mukhabarat. But whose photo is that? Is it in Lebanon (I can ascertain that it is)? How did Syrian mukhabarat infiltrate the Christian heartland to take this photo, and where is the state security, is it not supposed to be working against such infiltrations? Or are Walid Jumblatt and his dog on a tight leash Samir Geagea only good for barking about Syria, while ministers are getting “offed” at an alarming rate? Or does the non-prevention of these crimes suit the “March 14” gangs, because it portrays them as “the targeted”, the “victims”, etc., and turns this conflict into one between “the good” and “the bad”, where of course the good guys are the “March 14”, and the bad guys are Syrian-Iranian agents? And doesn’t this lack of concern raise questions as to why, if there is such a criminal mastermind behind all these assassinations after that of Hariri, he has not targeted the head(s) (unfotunately multiple) of the snake?

Of course, he did not show the journalists any photos of the groups of LF militiamen waving huge black flags with skull symbols on them, the flag of the Sadem (Collision) Force, as it was known during the civil war. He insisted that LFers were unarmed. He said, if we were the ones who were armed, how can it be that the one who died was from our side? Fallacious. Just because you hold arms does not mean you cannot be killed. At best, it means that the other side had arms (or that the army shot you because you were threatening the other side with your guns – which was the case, as reported by those present there – some of whom I know – and in other areas around Lebanon, including reporters and journalists – but don’t expect Fantasy TV or LBC to report this); moreover, just because there was no one killed on the other side does not mean that there were no injuries, some of them critical, from gunshot wounds in the back. But assuming that his logic is not fallacious, what do the 4 dead from yesterday’s “clashes” (as the events are referred to in foreign – and Saudi-sponsored – media) signify then? That it was the doing of –?? Oh I see, the perfect scapegoats : Syrians and Palestinians. Of course. Fantasy Movement seems not to have learned yesterday’s lesson (where their lies got exposed live, for all to see, on Fantasy TV), and today Mustaqbal newspaper reported (in one line) that the snipers had been caught, and it had turned out that they were Syrians and Palestinians. Brilliant reporting. By the way, if the security forces are so good with doing their homework, how about arresting some of the militiamen who appeared with weapons in photos, both on Tuesday and on Thursday, and we will see which party they belong to???? It would not be difficult to identify them, as their faces are apparent in the photos. And what’s with the obsession with “our areas” and “Mount Lebanon”? I wonder, is Mr. Geagea still obsessed with the idea of cantonization? I know that Jumblatt is dying to spill blood to draw the borders of his canton with.

Didn’t know that Al-Akhbar had such close ties to the Syrian mukhabarat, by the way. Damn, must be that the ones who work there, and whom I know, are Syrian agents. That makes me a Syrian agent by association. And while everyone’s busy with the witch-hunt, the “civilized” continue to wave the Sadem Force flags. Enjoy your Cedar Revolutionaries.

Hariri Militia Strikes!

At least 4 killed by Hariri militia snipers, 2 of them students at Beirut Arab University. All have been shot in the head. 35 injured, some critically. Al-Manar reporter attacked on the south Lebanon highway.

This, once again, proves that HezbAllah does not want the “best for the country.”

And more proof that HezbAllah is the “only armed militia in the country”.

Stay tuned for more “gifts” from those who do want the best for the country.

So much for the winter tourism season… I bet ski resort owners are not too happy with that.

Update: 3 Lebanese Army soldiers have been injured by sniper fire, 2 in the back.

Update: It is being reported that a number of roadblocks have been set up in some areas, where some “elements” are checking IDs.

Update: Snipers continue to fire rounds of ammunition. Students still trapped in BAU campus. Army unable to locate the source of fire. Al Jazeera reports that a sniper belonging to Walid Jumblatt’s PSP has been captured.

Update: Hariri mercenaries burned down SSNP offices in “Tariq Jdide”.

BREAKING NEWS @ 8:03 pm: Al-Manar TV just aired footage of SNIPERS shooting from apartments and the roofs of a number of buildings.

And in Sidon… Hariri militiamen have cut off all roads into and out of Sidon, and practically laid siege to the city. This according to the inhabitants of Sidon, and the reporter of NewTV, who said that they could not leave the city; the militiamen have also detained a number of civilians.

Unofficial Numbers… The two students who were killed are: Hassan Mahmud Murtada, 23, from Temnine al-Tahta (Beqa’a) and Khalil Shuman, 21, from Sir’in al-Fawqa (Beqa’a). The other 2 victims have also been named: Muhammad Sharif, and ‘Adnan Ibrahim Shamss, 28, from Sha’ath. 106 people have been injured, including at least 60 civilians who have suffered from gunshot wounds; 20 from the Lebanese Army, including 4 officers.

Also notable… World media (and Saudi satellite stations with different names) of course have not referred to the sniping, and have emphasized repeatedly that these were merely “student clashes”. Of course. How typical. I’m trying to get a hold of the footage aired by Al-Manar. Much to the embarrassment of Hariri propaganda TV (Future TV), the camera crew of the station was happily shooting live footage of students setting a car on fire, and the reporter commented that these were opposition protestors; then the thugs started shouting “kss’emmak Nasrallah” (a swear word), and the station immediately cut the coverage. Dear viewers, we apologize for this minor propaganda glitch.

(Photos inside – you have been warned)

Finally, some MILITANT action

Yesterday I was telling a few people how the opposition will never succeed with its pacifist attitudes and behaviour in toppling the government, and that if they want to achieve anything, they will have to shift onto a militant stance.

Well, it seems they finally heard me. And about time that they did something like this.

Drone

I am not hallucinating. Or joking. There is a drone in the area. I KNOW what a drone sounds like. It cannot be anything but a drone.

أ♥الحياة

By Mazen Kerbaj. For more of Mazen’s work, check out his blog.

The Changing Face of Academia

“Hezbollah scholar” Judith Palmer Harik writes in Hezbollah: The Changing Face of Terrorism:

“Then, on 19 September, Ariel Sharon’s troops who were presumed to be protecting the people in the camps from just such an eventuality, apparently did not see Bashir’s Lebanese allies cleanse the camps of ‘2,000 terrorists’ Defense Minister Sharon insisted had remained on the sites. As a result of that action, hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinian civilians were subjected to three days of torture, rape and killing while many others were arrested and trucked away never to appear again. In all, an estimated 2,000 civilians were either killed or made to disappear in that operation.

A four-nation international force, including 1,400 US marines, was dispatched to Beirut immediately after the massacres to take charge of the further deteriorating situation and to organize the evacuation of Palestinian fighters to Tunisia, whose government agreed to accept them.” (p. 35-36)

Anything wrong with that paragraph? I call upon the resident Lebanon experts to provide an answer.