Every time an Israeli plane flies over Lebanese territory, the Lebanese government - which is dominated by Hariri's Sunni Muslims - a huge outrage ensues. Complaints are filed with the UN, Siniora and Hariri, and of course Hezbollah and the poodle Lebanese Army, all cry foul and decry the "enemy violations" and so on and so forth.
Now Hariri and Siniora are supposedly "pro-Western" and "anti-Syrian, which in theory should make them "pro-peace" and at least "pro-negotiations" to settle the puny Israeli-Lebanese border issues, which in fact are all caused by Syria's refusal to recognize the Shebaa Farms as Lebanese.
But that is a long convoluted story that many people don't understand, and who prefer to live with the simplistic dichotomy of pro-Syrian and Anti-Syrian divide in Lebanese politics.
The fact is, as the news below shows, when Syria invades and seizes Lebanese territory, even the anti-Syrians don;t even bother to denounce the aggression and the violation. By treating Syria, which is a foreign country that occupied Lebanon for more than 30 years and killing more than 100,000 people there before withdrawing in 2005, as an innocuous invader whose aggressions are "brotherly", HAriri and Sunni Muslims prove to many Lebanese that they are no different from Hezbollah: RAbid pan-Arab, pan-Islamic nationalism at the expense of basic concepts of patriotism and international law.
When Syria gets away so easily on such major incursions and aggressions against Lebanon, Syria believes therefore that Lebanon is its own and can do what it wants. Thus, let the Hariris and the Sinioras not be surprised when Syria treats Lebanon like its toilet, killing people like cockroaches and invading and agressing at will, because no one ever complains over its violations of Lebanese sovereignty - even its supposed enemies Hariri and the MArch 14 bunch of degenerates.
The double standard between Israel and Syria is the best proof that the Lebanese brand of "Sovereignty, Independence and Freedom" as espoused by March 14 and its Sunni leaders is really fake.
Hanibaal
Syrian Deployment in Outskirts of Kfarqouq Town in Rashaya
Syrian forces have expended their deployment in the area of Dawrat Manqaa al-Touffaha in Rashaya after military units moved into the area near the town of Kfarqouq, al-Mustaqbal daily reported Saturday.
The newspaper added that Syrian troops which are based on the border also deployed in the areas of Daydiyyeh, Mrah al-Heet and Khirbet Meshemshe that fall in the territory of Kfarqouq.
The soldiers brought it military and human reinforcements, al-Mustaqbal said. It quoted sources as wondering why the Syrian troops are upgrading their presence in the area and moving into Lebanese territories at a time when Beirut-Damascus ties are improving.
The sources added that this infiltration would put obstacles on demarcation of the Lebanese-Syrian border.
Beirut, 04 Jul 09, 10:28
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Illiteracy Highest Among Hezbollah's Followers- We Ask Hassan: Where's the Beef?
The UN's latest report, "Lebanon's fourth National Human Development Report (NHDR): Towards a Citizen's State," highlights a discrepancy in adult reading rates between urban and rural regions, with the lowest illiteracy rates in Hezbollah's strongholds of the South and the Bekaa.
The report may be downloaded from:
http://arabstates.undp.org/NHDR%20Full%20Report_En_LR.pdf
For example, adult literacy (measured among those above 15 years of age) is highest in Beirut at 94%. In contrast, the illiteracy rate is 16.7% in the mostly Shiite South around the Hezbollah stronghold of Nabatieh, and 16.8% in the other Hezbollah Shiite stronghold of the Bekaa Valley.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Shiite community blamed the Lebanese State for the backwardness and poverty among the Shiites of Lebanon. The two Shiite organizations of Amal (backed by Syria) and Hezbollah (backed by Iran) proceeded to wage war - mostly through terrorism means - against the Lebanese State throughout the 1980s.
Today the Lebanese State has been entirely pushed out of the two areas under Hezbollah's control (Amal having superficially re-joined the "legitimate State institutions") where Hezbollah is "credited" by idiot liberals in the West for having provided the "poor", "disenfranchised" and "dispossessed" Shiites of Lebanon with unprecedented "social, educational, and health" services, thus justifying Hezbollah's attack against the Lebanese State and its supplanting it in those areas.
The fact is that the lies and fallacies of this proposition are everywhere to be seen, including the reported just published by the UN:
- Hezbollah has not provided the Shiite community the services claimed
- Hezbollah has only spent millions of dollars it receives from Iran on weapons and on its warmongering and terrorist activities.
- In fact, Hezbollah has resorted to all kinds of illegal activities (drugs, diamond trade, pirated movies, etc. as has been amply documented on this blog) to funnel money into its military activities, while forcing the Lebanese Shiite community into regressing on education, health, and general development. Women in particular have been forced to stay at home, shun education, and wear Islamic clothing in exchange for monthly payments doled out from Iranian funds.
This is not development. This is backward Islamic rule that is seen everywhere Islamic fundamentalists run the show (PAkistan, Afghanistan, Iran, etc...) and people are fed up with Moslem clergy from 8th century vintage trying to run the lives of young, modern, eager to grow people in those countries.
The fallacy of the "good" that Hezbollah has done to the Lebanese community is demonstrated by the UN Report. Hezbollah should be dismantled, disarmed, and the young LEbanese Shiites who continue to be forcibly recruited into the terror organization ought to benefit, like the rest of the Lebanese communities, from the educational and health resources that the Lebanese State can provide. If there are any failings by the Lebanese State, they are, first, not targeted at the Shiite community, and second, they are due to Lebanon's overall social-political diseases of feudalism, tribalism, religious authority and the like.
The salvation of all the LEbanese, Shiite or otherwise, lies in supporting a strong, modern, reformed Lebanese State, and in forever uncoupling Lebanon from the cesspool of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that only the Lebanese, among all the coward Arabs, have been forced to deal with.
Hanibaal
The report may be downloaded from:
http://arabstates.undp.org/NHDR%20Full%20Report_En_LR.pdf
For example, adult literacy (measured among those above 15 years of age) is highest in Beirut at 94%. In contrast, the illiteracy rate is 16.7% in the mostly Shiite South around the Hezbollah stronghold of Nabatieh, and 16.8% in the other Hezbollah Shiite stronghold of the Bekaa Valley.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Shiite community blamed the Lebanese State for the backwardness and poverty among the Shiites of Lebanon. The two Shiite organizations of Amal (backed by Syria) and Hezbollah (backed by Iran) proceeded to wage war - mostly through terrorism means - against the Lebanese State throughout the 1980s.
Today the Lebanese State has been entirely pushed out of the two areas under Hezbollah's control (Amal having superficially re-joined the "legitimate State institutions") where Hezbollah is "credited" by idiot liberals in the West for having provided the "poor", "disenfranchised" and "dispossessed" Shiites of Lebanon with unprecedented "social, educational, and health" services, thus justifying Hezbollah's attack against the Lebanese State and its supplanting it in those areas.
The fact is that the lies and fallacies of this proposition are everywhere to be seen, including the reported just published by the UN:
- Hezbollah has not provided the Shiite community the services claimed
- Hezbollah has only spent millions of dollars it receives from Iran on weapons and on its warmongering and terrorist activities.
- In fact, Hezbollah has resorted to all kinds of illegal activities (drugs, diamond trade, pirated movies, etc. as has been amply documented on this blog) to funnel money into its military activities, while forcing the Lebanese Shiite community into regressing on education, health, and general development. Women in particular have been forced to stay at home, shun education, and wear Islamic clothing in exchange for monthly payments doled out from Iranian funds.
This is not development. This is backward Islamic rule that is seen everywhere Islamic fundamentalists run the show (PAkistan, Afghanistan, Iran, etc...) and people are fed up with Moslem clergy from 8th century vintage trying to run the lives of young, modern, eager to grow people in those countries.
The fallacy of the "good" that Hezbollah has done to the Lebanese community is demonstrated by the UN Report. Hezbollah should be dismantled, disarmed, and the young LEbanese Shiites who continue to be forcibly recruited into the terror organization ought to benefit, like the rest of the Lebanese communities, from the educational and health resources that the Lebanese State can provide. If there are any failings by the Lebanese State, they are, first, not targeted at the Shiite community, and second, they are due to Lebanon's overall social-political diseases of feudalism, tribalism, religious authority and the like.
The salvation of all the LEbanese, Shiite or otherwise, lies in supporting a strong, modern, reformed Lebanese State, and in forever uncoupling Lebanon from the cesspool of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that only the Lebanese, among all the coward Arabs, have been forced to deal with.
Hanibaal
Saturday, June 20, 2009
For Lebanon: Iran Down, Hezbollah Down
The Islamic Revolution in Iran has begun to crumble and implode from within, for no other reason than the fact that religious dictatorships are not different from secular ones. Except perhaps, in the degree of their backwardness and their claim to derive their authority from God, itself a primitive notion going back thousands of years.
No rational human being living today would believe in any of the fantastic, camel dung-laced desert hallucinations of Moses, Abraham and all the Jewish Prophets about so-called "Chosen People" and "Promised Land" behind which to hide racism and land grabs, followed by a revolutionary Jesus and his Communist disciples who founded the Roman Church and its offshoots of Protestantism and Orthodoxy with which they have committed endless genocides against native peoples around the world; and of late the raggedy womanizer "seal of the prophets" Mohammed who came along offering mankind a "better deal" that his predecessors, and like them to go on a rampage and force millions of people to his "new and improved" monotheistic bag of lies and filth and racism.
Yet, the Islamic Republic of Iran is founded on the idea that the clergy of ISlam are so much better endowed with God-given wisdom that they should rule over people, willingly or unwillingly.
For how long could the lie behind the Islamic Republic go unchecked, when Iran's young and modern people know enough and understand enough of the primitive and backward religious monsters that rule over their lives, that they have decided to stand up to it?
Not unlike the young Chinese who stood up to the Communist dictatorship in Tiananmen Square in 1989, and can today claim to have sapped the Communist Chinese dictatorship of its foundations that the dictators softened and are today capitalists to the core, who will still one day in the near future also surrender the political power after surrendering the economic one.
What is happening in Iran today is yet another re-birth of democracy, a genuine one this time. Like Eastern Europe did it in the 1980s, it is the turn of the East. Iraq (thanks to George W. Bush), Lebanon who kicked Syria out after 30 years of torment, Afghanistan (still in process), and now Iran of its own dynamic.
No one will deny that the stand by George W. Bush against fundamentalism is beginning to show its effects. These changes take time, and for the short-sighted, ignorant, impatient Americans who have forgotten September 11, 2001, what we see today in Iran is a direct effect of the Bush Doctrine, of what the Iranian young generation sees across the border in Iraq: A democracy in the making.
No one will deny that the Arab dictators, religious (Saudi) and secular (Egypt, Syria, etc.), are probably counting their own days prior to a revolution in their own midst. Arab peoples have been anesthetized for too long, they have been tamed and domesticated by "Anti-Zionist", "anti-Imperialist", rhetoric. But the inevitable is inevitable. The day will come when all the Arab regimes, the secular ones that give their children power like monarchies (Assad in Syria, Mubarak in Egypt, Qaddafi in Libya, and in Lebanon too within the fucking religious communities that make up the country), all these political-social constructs will collapse under the weight of their own inequities, impotence, incompatibility with the modern world, corruption and oppression of their own peoples.
With Iran and its Islamic government decomposing in Tehran, the nicest windfall to come out of it is the anaerobic putrefaction of Hezbollah whose Hassan Nasrallah will soon begin to smell like rotten eggs. Once the Iranian dictatorship is dismantled, the purse will tighten so much that HAssan will have no money to pay his poor SHiite peasants to grown their beards and veil their women. He will have no more money to buy missiles and rockets. He will have no money to pay the salaries of his brainwashed idiots with their Nazi salutes and ridiculous yellow and black colors. The Hezbollah empire that was erected over the cadaver of the Lebanese State in the late 1970s in the south of the country will have to come down.
That is why I am gleeful today. I support the Iranian young generation trying to wrestle their own country from the hands of the Islamic Neanderthals with smelly beards and funny hats that run their lives. But most of all, I support them for challenging religion as a basis of government. Perhaps we are finally witnessing the beginnings of an Age of Enlightenment in the East, where religion is cast outside the public square, and inside the dungeons and chapels and monasteries, like the West did between the 1500s and the 1800s. And most of all, I like what I see in Iran because it means the end of Hassan Nasrallah and his band of lunatic mercenaries in Lebanon.
Hanibaal
No rational human being living today would believe in any of the fantastic, camel dung-laced desert hallucinations of Moses, Abraham and all the Jewish Prophets about so-called "Chosen People" and "Promised Land" behind which to hide racism and land grabs, followed by a revolutionary Jesus and his Communist disciples who founded the Roman Church and its offshoots of Protestantism and Orthodoxy with which they have committed endless genocides against native peoples around the world; and of late the raggedy womanizer "seal of the prophets" Mohammed who came along offering mankind a "better deal" that his predecessors, and like them to go on a rampage and force millions of people to his "new and improved" monotheistic bag of lies and filth and racism.
Yet, the Islamic Republic of Iran is founded on the idea that the clergy of ISlam are so much better endowed with God-given wisdom that they should rule over people, willingly or unwillingly.
For how long could the lie behind the Islamic Republic go unchecked, when Iran's young and modern people know enough and understand enough of the primitive and backward religious monsters that rule over their lives, that they have decided to stand up to it?
Not unlike the young Chinese who stood up to the Communist dictatorship in Tiananmen Square in 1989, and can today claim to have sapped the Communist Chinese dictatorship of its foundations that the dictators softened and are today capitalists to the core, who will still one day in the near future also surrender the political power after surrendering the economic one.
What is happening in Iran today is yet another re-birth of democracy, a genuine one this time. Like Eastern Europe did it in the 1980s, it is the turn of the East. Iraq (thanks to George W. Bush), Lebanon who kicked Syria out after 30 years of torment, Afghanistan (still in process), and now Iran of its own dynamic.
No one will deny that the stand by George W. Bush against fundamentalism is beginning to show its effects. These changes take time, and for the short-sighted, ignorant, impatient Americans who have forgotten September 11, 2001, what we see today in Iran is a direct effect of the Bush Doctrine, of what the Iranian young generation sees across the border in Iraq: A democracy in the making.
No one will deny that the Arab dictators, religious (Saudi) and secular (Egypt, Syria, etc.), are probably counting their own days prior to a revolution in their own midst. Arab peoples have been anesthetized for too long, they have been tamed and domesticated by "Anti-Zionist", "anti-Imperialist", rhetoric. But the inevitable is inevitable. The day will come when all the Arab regimes, the secular ones that give their children power like monarchies (Assad in Syria, Mubarak in Egypt, Qaddafi in Libya, and in Lebanon too within the fucking religious communities that make up the country), all these political-social constructs will collapse under the weight of their own inequities, impotence, incompatibility with the modern world, corruption and oppression of their own peoples.
With Iran and its Islamic government decomposing in Tehran, the nicest windfall to come out of it is the anaerobic putrefaction of Hezbollah whose Hassan Nasrallah will soon begin to smell like rotten eggs. Once the Iranian dictatorship is dismantled, the purse will tighten so much that HAssan will have no money to pay his poor SHiite peasants to grown their beards and veil their women. He will have no more money to buy missiles and rockets. He will have no money to pay the salaries of his brainwashed idiots with their Nazi salutes and ridiculous yellow and black colors. The Hezbollah empire that was erected over the cadaver of the Lebanese State in the late 1970s in the south of the country will have to come down.
That is why I am gleeful today. I support the Iranian young generation trying to wrestle their own country from the hands of the Islamic Neanderthals with smelly beards and funny hats that run their lives. But most of all, I support them for challenging religion as a basis of government. Perhaps we are finally witnessing the beginnings of an Age of Enlightenment in the East, where religion is cast outside the public square, and inside the dungeons and chapels and monasteries, like the West did between the 1500s and the 1800s. And most of all, I like what I see in Iran because it means the end of Hassan Nasrallah and his band of lunatic mercenaries in Lebanon.
Hanibaal
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
And the Coward Lebanese call Hezbollah "Resistance"
Former head of US homeland security Michael Chertoff: Hizbullah Could Surpass Al-Qaida as Most Serious Long-Term Threat to the U.S.
In a book published later this year, Chertoff - who for four years headed efforts to prevent a repeat of the attacks of September 11, 2001 - alleges Hizbullah is better equipped, better trained and better politically positioned than Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida.
"Al-Qaida and its network are our most serious immediate threat, they may not be our most serious long-term threat," Chertoff writes in a book to be published in September, a draft of which was obtained by Agence France Presse.
"Having operated for more than a quarter-century, (Hizbullah) has developed capabilities that al-Qaida can only dream of, including large quantities of missiles and highly sophisticated explosives."
Chertoff says the group, whose Arabic name means the "Party of God," also has "uniformly well trained operatives, an exceptionally well-disciplined force of nearly 30,000 fighters, and extraordinary political influence."
According to Chertoff, the group was behind a suicide bombing that killed 200 U.S. marines in Beirut in 1983 and the 1996 bombing of the Khobar towers in Saudi Arabia, which killed more than 20 people. Hizbullah has denied involvement.
Despite its defeat in elections earlier this month, Hizbullah and its allies remain a major force in Lebanese politics.
It is this power, along with Hizbullah's military weight and ties with Iran that are worrying, according to Chertoff.
"Hizbullah shows what an ideologically driven terrorist organization can become when it evolves into an army and a political party and gains a deeply embedded degree of control within a state, as Hizbullah has done in Lebanon's democratic infrastructure," he warns.
Chertoff argues Hizbullah poses a growing threat in the Western Hemisphere, despite limited attacks on U.S. targets.
"While Hizbullah may not have carried out attacks in the United States itself, it has developed a presence in the Western Hemisphere, specifically in South America," Chertoff says, alleging that the group carried out bombings of Jewish and Israeli targets in Buenos Aires.
"These acts disturbingly underscore Hizbullah's reach into the hemisphere, notably the tri-border areas at the margins of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay."(AFP)
In a book published later this year, Chertoff - who for four years headed efforts to prevent a repeat of the attacks of September 11, 2001 - alleges Hizbullah is better equipped, better trained and better politically positioned than Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida.
"Al-Qaida and its network are our most serious immediate threat, they may not be our most serious long-term threat," Chertoff writes in a book to be published in September, a draft of which was obtained by Agence France Presse.
"Having operated for more than a quarter-century, (Hizbullah) has developed capabilities that al-Qaida can only dream of, including large quantities of missiles and highly sophisticated explosives."
Chertoff says the group, whose Arabic name means the "Party of God," also has "uniformly well trained operatives, an exceptionally well-disciplined force of nearly 30,000 fighters, and extraordinary political influence."
According to Chertoff, the group was behind a suicide bombing that killed 200 U.S. marines in Beirut in 1983 and the 1996 bombing of the Khobar towers in Saudi Arabia, which killed more than 20 people. Hizbullah has denied involvement.
Despite its defeat in elections earlier this month, Hizbullah and its allies remain a major force in Lebanese politics.
It is this power, along with Hizbullah's military weight and ties with Iran that are worrying, according to Chertoff.
"Hizbullah shows what an ideologically driven terrorist organization can become when it evolves into an army and a political party and gains a deeply embedded degree of control within a state, as Hizbullah has done in Lebanon's democratic infrastructure," he warns.
Chertoff argues Hizbullah poses a growing threat in the Western Hemisphere, despite limited attacks on U.S. targets.
"While Hizbullah may not have carried out attacks in the United States itself, it has developed a presence in the Western Hemisphere, specifically in South America," Chertoff says, alleging that the group carried out bombings of Jewish and Israeli targets in Buenos Aires.
"These acts disturbingly underscore Hizbullah's reach into the hemisphere, notably the tri-border areas at the margins of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay."(AFP)
Wait a Minute...But this is the Switzerland of the Middle East. How can it be?
Lebanon's decline from the "Paris" and "Switzerland" of the Middle East continues. Ever since the country's Muslims defeated the Christians and took over the reins of power, the country has been regressing into a filthy, polluted, corrupt third world country. What else would you expect?
Like Armenia, like Georgia, like Cyprus, like the Balkans, like Ethiopia and other countries that are on the fault line between Islam (whose armies invaded and islamized these countries by force) and Christendom (since all these countries used to be Christian before the forced conquest and conversion), Lebanon oscillates between periods of enlightenment and periods of backwardness, depending on who has the upper hand.
The last episode of Lebanon's history is the 1945 to 2009 period. Lebanon emerged from World War II with a system of government dominated by the Christians but which had operated on platform of power-sharing, democratic institutions, openness to the Arab Muslim East AND to the Christian West. As a result, Lebanon prospered, thrived and became a model for developing countries with open door policies in the social, political, and economic.
Fast forward 30 years later. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, mounting Arab nationalism (which gradually mutated from a "Secular" nationalism to today's "Islamic fundamentalist" nationalism) encouraged the Muslims to make a move against their Christian compatriots. The "NAtional Pact" of power-sharing was attacked, the Lebanese army was fought by Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese (Druze, Shiite, and Sunni) militias. The Muslims of Lebanon sided with Yasser Arafat's PLO and Syria against their fellow Christian Lebanese. Bloodshed ensued and in 1989 the "Taif Agreement" gave the Muslims a few gains (that are not worth the 150,000 dead and many more wounded, displaced, and the toll on the country's structure and stability. Now, the Christian president was stripped of his powers which were transferred to the Sunni Muslim Prime Minister.
Since 1990, the Muslims have dominated the country, first with the corrupt Syrian collaborator pro-Saudi billionaire Rafik Hariri as Prime Minister, and now with the Shiite fundamentalist pro-Iran terrorist organization whose arsenal is bigger than that of the Lebanese Army.
The results of Muslim rule in Lebanon are all bad. From economic decline to instability, to corruption and endemic instability, the following status of Lebanon is one prime example of what Muslim dominance has done to Lebanon.
Hanibaal
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lebanon on U.S. State Department's Human Trafficking Watchlist
The Obama administration on Tuesday put Lebanon on the watchlist of countries suspected of not doing enough to combat human trafficking.
"Women from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Ethiopia who travel to Lebanon legally to work as household servants often find themselves in conditions of forced labor through withholding of passports, non-payment of wages, restrictions on movement, threats, and physical or sexual assault," the State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report," the first released since President Barack Obama took office, said.
According to the report, some employers have kept foreign domestic workers confined in houses for years. It said several NGOs indicate that 15 percent of those workers encounter physical abuse from their employers.
On the Lebanese government's "artist" work permit program, the Department said that such moves, which lead to the entry of women from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union to work in the adult entertainment industry, facilitate sex trafficking.
"Some women are reportedly held in debt bondage, receiving little or no income until the employer has forced the women to repay fraudulently imposed debts allegedly associated with the cost of their recruitment, transportation, and employment," the report said.
About child trafficking, the Department said Lebanese children are trafficked within the country for the purposes of forced labor, mostly street vending, and sexual exploitation.
It added that the Lebanese government does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking despite some efforts to do so.
According to the report, Lebanon made modest but insufficient efforts to prosecute or punish trafficking offenses and minimal efforts to prevent trafficking in persons over the last year.
It recommended criminalizing all forms of trafficking in persons, investigating and prosecuting trafficking offenses under existing law and convicting and punishing trafficking offenders.
The State Department also called for developing and instituting formal procedures to identify victims of trafficking among vulnerable populations.
"With this report, we hope to shine the light brightly on the scope and scale of modern slavery so all governments can see where progress has been made and where more is needed," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said as she released the 320-page document.
This year, the Department placed 52 countries and territories -- mainly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East -- on the watchlist. That number is a 30 percent jump from the 40 countries on the list in 2008.
Inclusion on the watchlist means those countries' governments are not fully complying with minimum standards set by U.S. law for cooperating in efforts to reduce the rise of human trafficking -- a common denominator in the sex trade, coerced labor and recruitment of child soldiers.
If a country appears on the list for two consecutive years, it can be subject to U.S. sanctions.
Seventeen nations, up from 14 in 2008, are now subject to the trafficking sanctions, which can include a ban on non-humanitarian and trade-related aid and U.S. opposition to loans and credits from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The penalties can be waived if the president determines it is in U.S. national interest to do so.
Those 17 countries include traditional U.S. foes like Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan and Syria, but also American allies and friends such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Like Armenia, like Georgia, like Cyprus, like the Balkans, like Ethiopia and other countries that are on the fault line between Islam (whose armies invaded and islamized these countries by force) and Christendom (since all these countries used to be Christian before the forced conquest and conversion), Lebanon oscillates between periods of enlightenment and periods of backwardness, depending on who has the upper hand.
The last episode of Lebanon's history is the 1945 to 2009 period. Lebanon emerged from World War II with a system of government dominated by the Christians but which had operated on platform of power-sharing, democratic institutions, openness to the Arab Muslim East AND to the Christian West. As a result, Lebanon prospered, thrived and became a model for developing countries with open door policies in the social, political, and economic.
Fast forward 30 years later. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, mounting Arab nationalism (which gradually mutated from a "Secular" nationalism to today's "Islamic fundamentalist" nationalism) encouraged the Muslims to make a move against their Christian compatriots. The "NAtional Pact" of power-sharing was attacked, the Lebanese army was fought by Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese (Druze, Shiite, and Sunni) militias. The Muslims of Lebanon sided with Yasser Arafat's PLO and Syria against their fellow Christian Lebanese. Bloodshed ensued and in 1989 the "Taif Agreement" gave the Muslims a few gains (that are not worth the 150,000 dead and many more wounded, displaced, and the toll on the country's structure and stability. Now, the Christian president was stripped of his powers which were transferred to the Sunni Muslim Prime Minister.
Since 1990, the Muslims have dominated the country, first with the corrupt Syrian collaborator pro-Saudi billionaire Rafik Hariri as Prime Minister, and now with the Shiite fundamentalist pro-Iran terrorist organization whose arsenal is bigger than that of the Lebanese Army.
The results of Muslim rule in Lebanon are all bad. From economic decline to instability, to corruption and endemic instability, the following status of Lebanon is one prime example of what Muslim dominance has done to Lebanon.
Hanibaal
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lebanon on U.S. State Department's Human Trafficking Watchlist
The Obama administration on Tuesday put Lebanon on the watchlist of countries suspected of not doing enough to combat human trafficking.
"Women from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Ethiopia who travel to Lebanon legally to work as household servants often find themselves in conditions of forced labor through withholding of passports, non-payment of wages, restrictions on movement, threats, and physical or sexual assault," the State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report," the first released since President Barack Obama took office, said.
According to the report, some employers have kept foreign domestic workers confined in houses for years. It said several NGOs indicate that 15 percent of those workers encounter physical abuse from their employers.
On the Lebanese government's "artist" work permit program, the Department said that such moves, which lead to the entry of women from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union to work in the adult entertainment industry, facilitate sex trafficking.
"Some women are reportedly held in debt bondage, receiving little or no income until the employer has forced the women to repay fraudulently imposed debts allegedly associated with the cost of their recruitment, transportation, and employment," the report said.
About child trafficking, the Department said Lebanese children are trafficked within the country for the purposes of forced labor, mostly street vending, and sexual exploitation.
It added that the Lebanese government does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking despite some efforts to do so.
According to the report, Lebanon made modest but insufficient efforts to prosecute or punish trafficking offenses and minimal efforts to prevent trafficking in persons over the last year.
It recommended criminalizing all forms of trafficking in persons, investigating and prosecuting trafficking offenses under existing law and convicting and punishing trafficking offenders.
The State Department also called for developing and instituting formal procedures to identify victims of trafficking among vulnerable populations.
"With this report, we hope to shine the light brightly on the scope and scale of modern slavery so all governments can see where progress has been made and where more is needed," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said as she released the 320-page document.
This year, the Department placed 52 countries and territories -- mainly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East -- on the watchlist. That number is a 30 percent jump from the 40 countries on the list in 2008.
Inclusion on the watchlist means those countries' governments are not fully complying with minimum standards set by U.S. law for cooperating in efforts to reduce the rise of human trafficking -- a common denominator in the sex trade, coerced labor and recruitment of child soldiers.
If a country appears on the list for two consecutive years, it can be subject to U.S. sanctions.
Seventeen nations, up from 14 in 2008, are now subject to the trafficking sanctions, which can include a ban on non-humanitarian and trade-related aid and U.S. opposition to loans and credits from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The penalties can be waived if the president determines it is in U.S. national interest to do so.
Those 17 countries include traditional U.S. foes like Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan and Syria, but also American allies and friends such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Defeat of Integrity in Lebanon: Walid Maalouf's Campaign
We just received the letter below from the Walid Maalouf Campaign in the aftermath of the legislative elections in Lebanon.
Walid ran the only modern and the only clean campaign, as an independent candidate.
He did not pay people to fly from the five continents and vote for him. He did not use a penny from his own money, working hard instead to raise it from people who believed in him. He did not ride as an unknown parasite on the lists of feudals, money whales and other corrupt politicians. He ran on a platform of change and real economic and political revitalization of Lebanon's antiquated, primitive, corrupt, highly unethical and undemocratic system.
That kind of integrity is rarely, if ever, found in Lebanon these days. All you have to do is look at the faces and the names who ran and won: The same faces and names of warlords, filthy wealthy politicians and their lackey dogs of journalists and media people, who inherit their power from their fathers and mothers like it was an entitlement to them, over the will of a largely uneducated, impoverished, and ignorant Lebanese people who think that their own salvation is to stick with the "boss" and the "boss's son or daughter". That's what primitive people do.
Just read below about how Walid was interviewed and recognized by all the foreign press and media, but not by the Lebanese press and media. The notion that there is a free press in Lebanon is a fallacy. Each big name politician has his own media empire: televisions, radio stations, and newspapers - like Berlusconi of Italy . They hire mercenary journalists who cover them, and attack their opponents. Their notion of "free press" is to hurl insults at their opponents. They knew Walid was a threat. So they just ignored him.
In addition, they - the big name owners of the existing media - control the state and access by others. The so-called "Press Syndicate" is the political control point: to start a newspaper in Lebanon, you have to be a member of the Press Syndicate. To be a member of the Press Syndicate, you have to be inducted by the existing members who are the current monopolizers of the press. They basically won't let you in, so you can't start your own media channel, and this way they monopolize expression. I tried it myself a few years back, and after years of begging and inquiring, I abandoned all efforts because I could not find a sponsor from the Press Syndicate members to induct me. Why? Because I was an independent and I refused to swear allegiance to the Tuenis and others who control the press in Lebanon.
Unfortunately, the Lebanese people don't realize how much better their lives would be if only they had the courage to dare and take a chance. That is what a progressive, liberal mind would do. But, alas, the Lebanese are deeply resistant to changing their reality, even as their reality is full of war, deprivation, abuse, and lack of genuine representation by their corrupt politicians.
At least, Walid tried. He pioneered the idea. Let us hope that at the next elections, there will be more candidates like him - perhaps if Diaspora and Resident Lebanon can organize themselves to create INDEPENDENT LISTS to run against the Jumblatts, Hariris, Gemayels, Chamouns, Berris Aouns, and all the other big patriarchs of political farms - and we hope that the Simian Lebanese people would have climbed down from the trees and down to civilization and real democracy.
Hanibaal
____________________________________________________________
Letter from Michel Yammine
Chairman,
The Walid Maalouf Campaign
Kfarkatra - Shouf
Lebanon
Dear Benefactors, Friends and Supporters:
In his last week campaigning, Walid Maalouf visited with the Spiritual Leader of the Druze in Baakleen Sheik Mohamad Jawad Waleeddine and discussed unity, prosperity and the return of all the displaced to the Shouf. Mr. Maalouf gave an interview to the Voice of American TV where he discussed the elections and his views on several political issues. He was a speaker at the Academic & Technical School in Dora before a Shoufists audience from different towns and villages.
Mr. Maalouf hosted a dinner the eve of the elections at his residence in Kfarkatra for all his delegates, friends, family and supporters as a thank you for all the work and the volunteering they offered throughout the last 5 months of his campaign. On Election Day Mr. Maalouf visited more than 30 voting centers and thanked the authorities and the delegates of his opponents for the good spirit in managing their voting centers.
Mr. Maalouf worked nonstop since he landed in Beirut on February 15th. He visited more than 95 towns, villages and cities of the Shouf. He appeared on three talk shows and spoke of his campaign, his views and vision for a new Lebanon . He was interviewed in three major US newspapers: The New York Times, The Miami Herald Tribune and the Washington Diplomat. He was not offered any prime time spot on Lebanese TV and he was not covered accordingly in the Lebanese newspapers. His press conference in Kfarkatra was not covered at all by any TV stations while all TVs were represented at the conference. He did not have delegates at each voting center (385) like his opponents. He did not raise millions of dollars like his opponents. He did not have billboard except 20 large pictures in major roads to the Shouf placed in private properties. Three of them disappeared and had several minor incidents in not allowing the LibanPost to deliver the brochures in some towns. We sent two complaints of those incidents and the lack of media coverage to the Lebanese Election Authorities, LADE and the European Union election team observers. He was interviewed twice by the European Union observers at his residence in Kfarkatra.
With all the above Mr. Walid Maalouf made it on the map of the Shouf with 1% of the votes. He gathered 922 votes. The slate of Joumblatt won with its 8 deputies. 90000 people voted: the winners with 62000 votes, and the losers from the Aoun slate with 27000 votes. Big differences as you see.
This is my last letter to you as the International Chairman of the Walid Maalouf campaign. I want to thank you all for following up on our news and thank those who have donated to our campaign. We raised $44,810 and we spent $51,889 (not official yet). Any help to get us out of this debt is much appreciated.
So long,
Michel Yammine
International Chairman
The Walid Maalouf Campaign
Kfarkatra - Shouf
Lebanon
Reactions:
"Walid, Great job, khayye. You worked hard and you made a very good point. The status quo in Lebanon is very difficult to change. Just embarking on your campaign is a sign of courage and resolve on your part. Your campaign was the first step in a very long road ahead." Joe Hitti, Massachusetts
"Walid Maalouf is Lebanon 's best hope to make a change from old politics as usual in lebanon and deserves the support of every Lebanese who loves Lebanon ." Arzi, Beirut
"Very good run! close to 1000 votes. You did a good run and you hoped for the best! at least now you tried it and you enjoyed every moment of it .... Congratulations, Eddy Slim, California
"je suis de deir el kamar , j ai entendu parlé de vous et j 'ai vu votre programme aux élections je vous souhaite bonne chance et vous aurez ma voix . nous avons besoin des personnes intègres et pro." Nada Nassif, Deir El-Kamar , Lebanon
"My name is Karen Elia psychoanalyst from Fawara Shouf. I want to wish you good luck for the election, and I want to tell you that me and my family will give you our voices. I hope to keep in contact and to call you for congratulations. I don't know you but I decided to give you my trust and wish you luck." Karen Elia, Fouara , Lebanon
"While you faced an uphill battle, you sent a message-- you did not bow down to the political machine. Most voters will not think for themselves but prefer to be lead. I guess it does not matter what country we are talking about. Political mafias rule, sad." Jackie Haddad, Ohio
For more information about Mr. Maalouf visit www.walidmaalouf.com and www.walidmaalouffoundation.org.lb
Walid ran the only modern and the only clean campaign, as an independent candidate.
He did not pay people to fly from the five continents and vote for him. He did not use a penny from his own money, working hard instead to raise it from people who believed in him. He did not ride as an unknown parasite on the lists of feudals, money whales and other corrupt politicians. He ran on a platform of change and real economic and political revitalization of Lebanon's antiquated, primitive, corrupt, highly unethical and undemocratic system.
That kind of integrity is rarely, if ever, found in Lebanon these days. All you have to do is look at the faces and the names who ran and won: The same faces and names of warlords, filthy wealthy politicians and their lackey dogs of journalists and media people, who inherit their power from their fathers and mothers like it was an entitlement to them, over the will of a largely uneducated, impoverished, and ignorant Lebanese people who think that their own salvation is to stick with the "boss" and the "boss's son or daughter". That's what primitive people do.
Just read below about how Walid was interviewed and recognized by all the foreign press and media, but not by the Lebanese press and media. The notion that there is a free press in Lebanon is a fallacy. Each big name politician has his own media empire: televisions, radio stations, and newspapers - like Berlusconi of Italy . They hire mercenary journalists who cover them, and attack their opponents. Their notion of "free press" is to hurl insults at their opponents. They knew Walid was a threat. So they just ignored him.
In addition, they - the big name owners of the existing media - control the state and access by others. The so-called "Press Syndicate" is the political control point: to start a newspaper in Lebanon, you have to be a member of the Press Syndicate. To be a member of the Press Syndicate, you have to be inducted by the existing members who are the current monopolizers of the press. They basically won't let you in, so you can't start your own media channel, and this way they monopolize expression. I tried it myself a few years back, and after years of begging and inquiring, I abandoned all efforts because I could not find a sponsor from the Press Syndicate members to induct me. Why? Because I was an independent and I refused to swear allegiance to the Tuenis and others who control the press in Lebanon.
Unfortunately, the Lebanese people don't realize how much better their lives would be if only they had the courage to dare and take a chance. That is what a progressive, liberal mind would do. But, alas, the Lebanese are deeply resistant to changing their reality, even as their reality is full of war, deprivation, abuse, and lack of genuine representation by their corrupt politicians.
At least, Walid tried. He pioneered the idea. Let us hope that at the next elections, there will be more candidates like him - perhaps if Diaspora and Resident Lebanon can organize themselves to create INDEPENDENT LISTS to run against the Jumblatts, Hariris, Gemayels, Chamouns, Berris Aouns, and all the other big patriarchs of political farms - and we hope that the Simian Lebanese people would have climbed down from the trees and down to civilization and real democracy.
Hanibaal
____________________________________________________________
Letter from Michel Yammine
Chairman,
The Walid Maalouf Campaign
Kfarkatra - Shouf
Lebanon
Dear Benefactors, Friends and Supporters:
In his last week campaigning, Walid Maalouf visited with the Spiritual Leader of the Druze in Baakleen Sheik Mohamad Jawad Waleeddine and discussed unity, prosperity and the return of all the displaced to the Shouf. Mr. Maalouf gave an interview to the Voice of American TV where he discussed the elections and his views on several political issues. He was a speaker at the Academic & Technical School in Dora before a Shoufists audience from different towns and villages.
Mr. Maalouf hosted a dinner the eve of the elections at his residence in Kfarkatra for all his delegates, friends, family and supporters as a thank you for all the work and the volunteering they offered throughout the last 5 months of his campaign. On Election Day Mr. Maalouf visited more than 30 voting centers and thanked the authorities and the delegates of his opponents for the good spirit in managing their voting centers.
Mr. Maalouf worked nonstop since he landed in Beirut on February 15th. He visited more than 95 towns, villages and cities of the Shouf. He appeared on three talk shows and spoke of his campaign, his views and vision for a new Lebanon . He was interviewed in three major US newspapers: The New York Times, The Miami Herald Tribune and the Washington Diplomat. He was not offered any prime time spot on Lebanese TV and he was not covered accordingly in the Lebanese newspapers. His press conference in Kfarkatra was not covered at all by any TV stations while all TVs were represented at the conference. He did not have delegates at each voting center (385) like his opponents. He did not raise millions of dollars like his opponents. He did not have billboard except 20 large pictures in major roads to the Shouf placed in private properties. Three of them disappeared and had several minor incidents in not allowing the LibanPost to deliver the brochures in some towns. We sent two complaints of those incidents and the lack of media coverage to the Lebanese Election Authorities, LADE and the European Union election team observers. He was interviewed twice by the European Union observers at his residence in Kfarkatra.
With all the above Mr. Walid Maalouf made it on the map of the Shouf with 1% of the votes. He gathered 922 votes. The slate of Joumblatt won with its 8 deputies. 90000 people voted: the winners with 62000 votes, and the losers from the Aoun slate with 27000 votes. Big differences as you see.
This is my last letter to you as the International Chairman of the Walid Maalouf campaign. I want to thank you all for following up on our news and thank those who have donated to our campaign. We raised $44,810 and we spent $51,889 (not official yet). Any help to get us out of this debt is much appreciated.
So long,
Michel Yammine
International Chairman
The Walid Maalouf Campaign
Kfarkatra - Shouf
Lebanon
Reactions:
"Walid, Great job, khayye. You worked hard and you made a very good point. The status quo in Lebanon is very difficult to change. Just embarking on your campaign is a sign of courage and resolve on your part. Your campaign was the first step in a very long road ahead." Joe Hitti, Massachusetts
"Walid Maalouf is Lebanon 's best hope to make a change from old politics as usual in lebanon and deserves the support of every Lebanese who loves Lebanon ." Arzi, Beirut
"Very good run! close to 1000 votes. You did a good run and you hoped for the best! at least now you tried it and you enjoyed every moment of it .... Congratulations, Eddy Slim, California
"je suis de deir el kamar , j ai entendu parlé de vous et j 'ai vu votre programme aux élections je vous souhaite bonne chance et vous aurez ma voix . nous avons besoin des personnes intègres et pro." Nada Nassif, Deir El-Kamar , Lebanon
"My name is Karen Elia psychoanalyst from Fawara Shouf. I want to wish you good luck for the election, and I want to tell you that me and my family will give you our voices. I hope to keep in contact and to call you for congratulations. I don't know you but I decided to give you my trust and wish you luck." Karen Elia, Fouara , Lebanon
"While you faced an uphill battle, you sent a message-- you did not bow down to the political machine. Most voters will not think for themselves but prefer to be lead. I guess it does not matter what country we are talking about. Political mafias rule, sad." Jackie Haddad, Ohio
For more information about Mr. Maalouf visit www.walidmaalouf.com and www.walidmaalouffoundation.org.lb
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Swine Hariri has Syrian-Arab Swine Disease
Here we go again. Saad Hariri, the rookie Sunni swine who just won the Lebanese parliamentary elections at the head of the so-called MArch 14 political bloc against Hezbollah, is revealing his true self: A follower, not a leader.
Instead of countering his enemy Hezbollah's radical warmongering policies, Hariri tows the line behind all rejectionist Muslims (Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah itself) and declares the great mule that he is: We will not make peace with Israel.
In other words, this supposed "leader" merely follows what the radical Arabs tell him to do. Instead of REALLY saving Lebanon (rather than just talk about it) by engaging Israel with direct or indirect talks to end the idiotic and meaningless stalemate over a barren rocky hill in the south that has engulfed Lebanon in 40 years of bloodshed and warfare, and segregate Lebanon from the cesspool of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (like what his own "friends" Egypt and Jordan have done, mind you), the little pig Hariri declares today that "He [i.e. Lebanon] will wait for all the [fucking] Arabs to make peace with Israel before he does."
In other words, he is stating the exact same position as his enemies Hezbollah and Michel Aoun, namely that Lebanon is to remain at war with Israel until countries like Mauritania, Djibouti, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia etc...all of which are thousands of miles away from Israel (and many of which have Israeli embassies and secret trade offices on their soil), make peace with Israel.
Now, if this is not being more Arab than the Arabs, or more of a dog than the dogs, or "plus royaliste que le roi" - in other words, a total fool, then I don't know why the Lebanese voted for HAriri and his bunch of senile, feudal, warlords pretending to be for sovereignty and independence, when all they do, time after time, is put their tails behind their legs and serve the interests of others before the interests of their own country.
Why do Hariri's Christian lackeys - Gemayel and Geagea - accept this status quo? Aren't they supposed to be the counterweight to this fat pig of a Sunni Wahhabist fundamentalist? Why don't they pressure him to at least hold indirect talks with the Israelis? After all, even the imbecile Syrians - Assad, Sharaa, Shaabane and such Baathist dinosaurs - have held indirect talks with Israel. Why can't Lebanon show the "independence", the "freedom" and the "Sovereignty" that the March 14 bastards claim to be their slogan, instead of deferring to the Arabs on a question that has eluded all of them for 60 years? Why can't Lebanon, for once, act in its own interest, instead of the interests of others?
Yalla, as we say in Lebanese, khalle el-khara ytabbish baado - it's all the same shit. Elections or no elections, nothing has changed in Lebanon, and the Lebanese will continue to suffer from the lack of vision, impotence, treason, and treachery of their own leaders.
Hanibaal
________________________________________________________
June 9, 2009 22:20
Hariri: Lebanon will not conduct peace talks with Israel
Lebanon will not conduct an independent peace track with Israel, and may not even join the Arab peace initiative, should it become the basis for regional negotiations, Sa'ad Hariri, the billionaire businessman who is the favorite to lead Lebanon's government following Sunday's elections, said on Tuesday.
"We will follow after the Arab initiative," he told CNN. "You see, the Arab initiative includes many countries for the peace process, and Lebanon will come as we see fit."
Legislative allies said Tuesday that Hariri, the 39-year-old moderate leader of the largest parliamentary bloc in the winning coalition, is expected to replace his ally Fuad Saniora, after his pro-Western coalition fended off a serious challenge from Iranian-backed Hizbullah in weekend elections.
Instead of countering his enemy Hezbollah's radical warmongering policies, Hariri tows the line behind all rejectionist Muslims (Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah itself) and declares the great mule that he is: We will not make peace with Israel.
In other words, this supposed "leader" merely follows what the radical Arabs tell him to do. Instead of REALLY saving Lebanon (rather than just talk about it) by engaging Israel with direct or indirect talks to end the idiotic and meaningless stalemate over a barren rocky hill in the south that has engulfed Lebanon in 40 years of bloodshed and warfare, and segregate Lebanon from the cesspool of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (like what his own "friends" Egypt and Jordan have done, mind you), the little pig Hariri declares today that "He [i.e. Lebanon] will wait for all the [fucking] Arabs to make peace with Israel before he does."
In other words, he is stating the exact same position as his enemies Hezbollah and Michel Aoun, namely that Lebanon is to remain at war with Israel until countries like Mauritania, Djibouti, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia etc...all of which are thousands of miles away from Israel (and many of which have Israeli embassies and secret trade offices on their soil), make peace with Israel.
Now, if this is not being more Arab than the Arabs, or more of a dog than the dogs, or "plus royaliste que le roi" - in other words, a total fool, then I don't know why the Lebanese voted for HAriri and his bunch of senile, feudal, warlords pretending to be for sovereignty and independence, when all they do, time after time, is put their tails behind their legs and serve the interests of others before the interests of their own country.
Why do Hariri's Christian lackeys - Gemayel and Geagea - accept this status quo? Aren't they supposed to be the counterweight to this fat pig of a Sunni Wahhabist fundamentalist? Why don't they pressure him to at least hold indirect talks with the Israelis? After all, even the imbecile Syrians - Assad, Sharaa, Shaabane and such Baathist dinosaurs - have held indirect talks with Israel. Why can't Lebanon show the "independence", the "freedom" and the "Sovereignty" that the March 14 bastards claim to be their slogan, instead of deferring to the Arabs on a question that has eluded all of them for 60 years? Why can't Lebanon, for once, act in its own interest, instead of the interests of others?
Yalla, as we say in Lebanese, khalle el-khara ytabbish baado - it's all the same shit. Elections or no elections, nothing has changed in Lebanon, and the Lebanese will continue to suffer from the lack of vision, impotence, treason, and treachery of their own leaders.
Hanibaal
________________________________________________________
June 9, 2009 22:20
Hariri: Lebanon will not conduct peace talks with Israel
Lebanon will not conduct an independent peace track with Israel, and may not even join the Arab peace initiative, should it become the basis for regional negotiations, Sa'ad Hariri, the billionaire businessman who is the favorite to lead Lebanon's government following Sunday's elections, said on Tuesday.
"We will follow after the Arab initiative," he told CNN. "You see, the Arab initiative includes many countries for the peace process, and Lebanon will come as we see fit."
Legislative allies said Tuesday that Hariri, the 39-year-old moderate leader of the largest parliamentary bloc in the winning coalition, is expected to replace his ally Fuad Saniora, after his pro-Western coalition fended off a serious challenge from Iranian-backed Hizbullah in weekend elections.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
HEZBOLLAH DEFEATED - The people spoke
Early predictions and returns from polling stations show a 53% turnout and a smashing defeat of Hezbollah and its allies:
- Obama's speech may have swayed the Lebanese voter toward a conciliatory approach to the stalemate, rather than to the confrontation embraced by terrorist Hezbollah and its patron Iran.
- Why would the Lebanese vote again for Hezbollah who since the last elections in 2005: 1. Caused a major war in the summer of 2006, and 2. Descended on the streets in May 2008, killing and intimidating with its weapons, after it had said it will never use its weapons internally.
- The Lebanese have learned the lesson: Confrontation and warmongering on religious fanatic ground does not work. The Lebanese people understand that it is time - after 40 years - to divorce Lebanon from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, whereas Hezbollah wants to keep Lebanon a hostage, in turmoil, in war in destruction...until a resolution of the ISraeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanibaal
- Obama's speech may have swayed the Lebanese voter toward a conciliatory approach to the stalemate, rather than to the confrontation embraced by terrorist Hezbollah and its patron Iran.
- Why would the Lebanese vote again for Hezbollah who since the last elections in 2005: 1. Caused a major war in the summer of 2006, and 2. Descended on the streets in May 2008, killing and intimidating with its weapons, after it had said it will never use its weapons internally.
- The Lebanese have learned the lesson: Confrontation and warmongering on religious fanatic ground does not work. The Lebanese people understand that it is time - after 40 years - to divorce Lebanon from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, whereas Hezbollah wants to keep Lebanon a hostage, in turmoil, in war in destruction...until a resolution of the ISraeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanibaal
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Hezbollah: Look Who's Talking. Islam's Entire Premise is Elimination of Others
Hezbollah, the supreme terror organization that managed to convince some liberal idiots in the West of its nice image, continues to reveal its true identity.
What did the Muslim fanatic neanderthals of Hassan Nasrallah, the bearded, smelly clergyman hiding in his cave somewhere in Lebanon, have to say to Obama's overture for a new beginning? More wagging of their sticks and accusing the West of "eliminating others", as if Islam itself did not conquer the world by the sword and by eliminating every remnant of every culture that preceded it.
Why, for those who don't know, the spread of Islam in the 8th century was, and is still, referred to by the Arabic word Al-Fatah (الفتح الاسلامي), the exact same word used centuries earlier by the Jews in their conquest of the Promised Land (with Joshua's annihilation, rape, burning and looting of the indigenous Canaanite cities and peoples for the sake of fucking Jehovah and his smelly Jewish prophets), or later by the Spanish in their "Conquista" of America, and in which they massacred and eliminated some of America's oldest civilizations for the sake of fucking God, fucking Jesus, fucking gold and fucking sex. Much as Muslims did in their Fatah which they carried out for the sake of fucking God, fucking Mohammad, fucking women and fucking riches. This was, and still is, religion's best moments.
Lest all the Muslims (like their Christian and Jewish counterparts did several hundreds of years ago with their own religions) abandon the premise of Islam's supremacy over the other religions, Islam will never rise to the level of a respected religion. In my opinion, all religions are trash, primitive concepts, exploited by power hungry bastards to control people and pilfer them of their freedoms and their money. But Christianity, and Judaism to a lesser extent, have come to accept that they are trash, and have learned not to force their beliefs (chosen people, immaculate conception, splitting of oceans by bearded smelly old men, resurrection, promised fuck of a land, and all that crap) on others. Islam, equally trashy and primitive and stupid, has yet to learn to restrict its absurd claims inside the walls of dusty mosques and in the brains of power mongers dressed in strange outfits and funny headgear.
So here is Hezbollah's response to Obama's modern and fresh outlook at a resolution of the fucking Promised Land of Palestine-Israel problem, for which millions of people have been killed over the centuries and the millennia: No. We want to kill the Jews and drive them to the sea, much like the answer of the fucking smelly Jewish settlers from Brooklyn NY who want to live on the barren hills of the West Bank because "God gave them the land 3,000 years ago": We want to drive the Muslims and Christians out of Palestine because, again, "God gave us the land".
Poor President Obama; he has no idea what he is up to. Fanatics like this, on both side of this stupid endless problem, can only be convinced by massacres and killings. As much as I like the approach of President Obama, we may all one day regret Bush's pre-emptive policies. I give Obama 2 years to realize the monstrosity he is facing, and by then, it will be time to run another campaign, and all the goodwill he is displaying will vanish in a haze of disappointments.
One last note: Obama's mention of the MAronites of Lebanon and the Copts of Egypt as "minorities" within Islam has done more harm than good to the cause of human rights in the Middle East because it enshrines their status as "second class Dhimmis". I would have hoped that the secularist Obama would have spoken to his Muslim audience about separating religion from state, about emancipating everyone, even atheists and non-believers, and about the need to uphold INDIVIDUAL human rights, rather than those of second class minorities.
Hanibaal
_______________________________________________________
Hizbullah to Obama: Those Whose History Was Based on Eliminating People Cannot Guide Others
Hizbullah commented on U.S. President Barack Obama's Cairo speech saying it represents a clear copy of strictly contradictory U.S. policy. A Hizbullah statement on Saturday said those who history was mainly based on eliminating other people couldn't guide others.
The Shiite party added, "any change felt by the region's Muslim and Arab people in the speech is not related to a change in U.S, strategy, but rather to repeated [U.S.] failures in conquering Arab and Muslim states as well as the failure of policies."
The party said that this is mainly due to the [continued] "resistance by forces of resistance, liberation and independence. "
Hizbullah described president Obama's speech as a form of "smart talk that aims to polish Washington's deformed image. This does not rise up to the standard of a new strategy, or [political] objective by the new American administration."
Beirut, 06 Jun 09, 13:24
What did the Muslim fanatic neanderthals of Hassan Nasrallah, the bearded, smelly clergyman hiding in his cave somewhere in Lebanon, have to say to Obama's overture for a new beginning? More wagging of their sticks and accusing the West of "eliminating others", as if Islam itself did not conquer the world by the sword and by eliminating every remnant of every culture that preceded it.
Why, for those who don't know, the spread of Islam in the 8th century was, and is still, referred to by the Arabic word Al-Fatah (الفتح الاسلامي), the exact same word used centuries earlier by the Jews in their conquest of the Promised Land (with Joshua's annihilation, rape, burning and looting of the indigenous Canaanite cities and peoples for the sake of fucking Jehovah and his smelly Jewish prophets), or later by the Spanish in their "Conquista" of America, and in which they massacred and eliminated some of America's oldest civilizations for the sake of fucking God, fucking Jesus, fucking gold and fucking sex. Much as Muslims did in their Fatah which they carried out for the sake of fucking God, fucking Mohammad, fucking women and fucking riches. This was, and still is, religion's best moments.
Lest all the Muslims (like their Christian and Jewish counterparts did several hundreds of years ago with their own religions) abandon the premise of Islam's supremacy over the other religions, Islam will never rise to the level of a respected religion. In my opinion, all religions are trash, primitive concepts, exploited by power hungry bastards to control people and pilfer them of their freedoms and their money. But Christianity, and Judaism to a lesser extent, have come to accept that they are trash, and have learned not to force their beliefs (chosen people, immaculate conception, splitting of oceans by bearded smelly old men, resurrection, promised fuck of a land, and all that crap) on others. Islam, equally trashy and primitive and stupid, has yet to learn to restrict its absurd claims inside the walls of dusty mosques and in the brains of power mongers dressed in strange outfits and funny headgear.
So here is Hezbollah's response to Obama's modern and fresh outlook at a resolution of the fucking Promised Land of Palestine-Israel problem, for which millions of people have been killed over the centuries and the millennia: No. We want to kill the Jews and drive them to the sea, much like the answer of the fucking smelly Jewish settlers from Brooklyn NY who want to live on the barren hills of the West Bank because "God gave them the land 3,000 years ago": We want to drive the Muslims and Christians out of Palestine because, again, "God gave us the land".
Poor President Obama; he has no idea what he is up to. Fanatics like this, on both side of this stupid endless problem, can only be convinced by massacres and killings. As much as I like the approach of President Obama, we may all one day regret Bush's pre-emptive policies. I give Obama 2 years to realize the monstrosity he is facing, and by then, it will be time to run another campaign, and all the goodwill he is displaying will vanish in a haze of disappointments.
One last note: Obama's mention of the MAronites of Lebanon and the Copts of Egypt as "minorities" within Islam has done more harm than good to the cause of human rights in the Middle East because it enshrines their status as "second class Dhimmis". I would have hoped that the secularist Obama would have spoken to his Muslim audience about separating religion from state, about emancipating everyone, even atheists and non-believers, and about the need to uphold INDIVIDUAL human rights, rather than those of second class minorities.
Hanibaal
_______________________________________________________
Hizbullah to Obama: Those Whose History Was Based on Eliminating People Cannot Guide Others
Hizbullah commented on U.S. President Barack Obama's Cairo speech saying it represents a clear copy of strictly contradictory U.S. policy. A Hizbullah statement on Saturday said those who history was mainly based on eliminating other people couldn't guide others.
The Shiite party added, "any change felt by the region's Muslim and Arab people in the speech is not related to a change in U.S, strategy, but rather to repeated [U.S.] failures in conquering Arab and Muslim states as well as the failure of policies."
The party said that this is mainly due to the [continued] "resistance by forces of resistance, liberation and independence. "
Hizbullah described president Obama's speech as a form of "smart talk that aims to polish Washington's deformed image. This does not rise up to the standard of a new strategy, or [political] objective by the new American administration."
Beirut, 06 Jun 09, 13:24
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The Prostitute Lebanese People: Votes for Sale.
Here is Lebanese "democracy", the biggest fallacy of modern times, at its best. Not only is it this disfigured mutant of what a democracy should be (what the Lebanese so proudly and so asininely brag about as "consensual", namely that a bunch of big money, big family, big religion oligarchs make the ultimate decisions), but it is the ultimate example of a degenerate people who would sell their souls, their votes, and yes, their daughters, their mothers, and maybe even their assholes to the highest bidder. As long as they make a buck.
This is the Ya Shaaba Lubnaana Al-Azim (Oh great people of Lebanon), which I have modified slightly into Ya Shaaba Lubnaana Al-Hamir (Oh stupid people of Lebanon). This is the people with the "only" democracy in the Middle East, the "Paris" of the Middle East, and the "Switzerland" of the Middle East. What affront to Paris and Switzerland it is to compare the dull garbage dump that Lebanon is, literally and figuratively, to them.
The Lebanese are so ignorant of the excrement in which they bathe every day of their lives that they manage to brag about their Phoenician past and their achievements over millennia - which are really to have not left one page of literature, one piece of architecture or one piece of art that is their own: They always copied whoever happened to invade them or pay them: Persians, Greeks, Romans, etc.. As the Lebanese still do today. Even as the scum of their cesspool rises up to their eyeballs, the Lebanese still smell the dollar around and hone on it in a straight line, and then live to brag about it.
Elections time in Lebanon brings out the best, then, in the Lebanese. Here is perfect proof.
Hanibaal
______________________________________________________________________
Imported vote has vital role in tight Lebanon poll
Saudi Arabia and Iran are footing the bill to fly home expatriates in the hope of swaying Sunday’s election, writes MICHAEL JANSEN in Beirut
FLOCKS OF overseas Lebanese are descending on Beirut’s Rafik Hariri airport ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary election.
They come from Brazil, the US, Canada, Britain, France and the Gulf, their expenses paid by the ruling and opposition blocs.
Driving into town they see the Lebanese flag paired on overpasses with the yellow and green banner of Hizbullah, ruler of the southern suburbs. A few billboards feature group photos of Hizbullah candidates, serious-faced men in suits and ties. Faded posters of independents grace lamp posts. The border of the Beirut municipality is marked with a billboard bearing a photo of candidates from the ruling Future Movement headed by Saad Hariri, son of former premier Rafik who was assassinated in 2005.
The homecomers and the money used to bring them here could very well decide the neck-and-neck race between the pro-western, Hariri-led coalition and the Hizbullah-led opposition alliance. A few weeks ago pollsters predicted a narrow win for the opposition, which consists of the Shia Hizbullah, the secular Shia Amal movement, a Maronite Catholic party headed by former general Michel Aoun, and the Greek Orthodox Syrian Social Nationalist Party. Today the election is too close to call. The ruling coalition of Maronite, Sunni and Druze factions has boosted its prospects by recruiting diaspora voters.
Pollster Abdo Saad, of the Beirut Centre for Research and Information, says expatriates and money could decide the election. “If those who live in Lebanon vote and there is no vote-buying, the opposition would definitely win.” Of the 128 seats in parliament, 104 were decided months ago. Due to the country’s sectarian system and the map of its clans and ward bosses, most seats are fixed assets. This leaves 24 bitterly contested seats in five districts. Christians make up the swing vote.
Most but not all the returnees are Christians who could go for candidates either of the ruling coalition or of Hizbullah’s ally, Gen Aoun, who remains the most popular Maronite politician although his support has slipped recently.
Muhammad Mashnouk, an independent analyst, says the 2005 election was conducted “under the impact of the assassination” of Rafik Hariri, enabling the pro-western coalition to win. But, he observes, the “blood of Hariri” has diminished as a rallying cry.
The closeness of the race prompted US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and US vice-president Joe Biden to pay high-profile visits to Beirut during the past two months with the aim of boosting the Hariri coalition. However, this may have backfired. Hariri supporters know Washington is on the coalition’s side while its opponents and independent-minded Lebanese resent what they see as overt US intervention.
By contrast, Saudi Arabia, ally of the Hariri bloc, and Iran, aligned with Hizbullah, are relying on covert, indirect means to influence the poll. Syria, Iran’s regional ally, is using whatever political clout it enjoys to the advantage of the opposition in the expectation that Damascus will reap the reward of enhanced ties with Lebanon.
A wag quips: “Saudi Arabia and Iran pay the money and Syria takes a commission.”
This is the Ya Shaaba Lubnaana Al-Azim (Oh great people of Lebanon), which I have modified slightly into Ya Shaaba Lubnaana Al-Hamir (Oh stupid people of Lebanon). This is the people with the "only" democracy in the Middle East, the "Paris" of the Middle East, and the "Switzerland" of the Middle East. What affront to Paris and Switzerland it is to compare the dull garbage dump that Lebanon is, literally and figuratively, to them.
The Lebanese are so ignorant of the excrement in which they bathe every day of their lives that they manage to brag about their Phoenician past and their achievements over millennia - which are really to have not left one page of literature, one piece of architecture or one piece of art that is their own: They always copied whoever happened to invade them or pay them: Persians, Greeks, Romans, etc.. As the Lebanese still do today. Even as the scum of their cesspool rises up to their eyeballs, the Lebanese still smell the dollar around and hone on it in a straight line, and then live to brag about it.
Elections time in Lebanon brings out the best, then, in the Lebanese. Here is perfect proof.
Hanibaal
______________________________________________________________________
Imported vote has vital role in tight Lebanon poll
Saudi Arabia and Iran are footing the bill to fly home expatriates in the hope of swaying Sunday’s election, writes MICHAEL JANSEN in Beirut
FLOCKS OF overseas Lebanese are descending on Beirut’s Rafik Hariri airport ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary election.
They come from Brazil, the US, Canada, Britain, France and the Gulf, their expenses paid by the ruling and opposition blocs.
Driving into town they see the Lebanese flag paired on overpasses with the yellow and green banner of Hizbullah, ruler of the southern suburbs. A few billboards feature group photos of Hizbullah candidates, serious-faced men in suits and ties. Faded posters of independents grace lamp posts. The border of the Beirut municipality is marked with a billboard bearing a photo of candidates from the ruling Future Movement headed by Saad Hariri, son of former premier Rafik who was assassinated in 2005.
The homecomers and the money used to bring them here could very well decide the neck-and-neck race between the pro-western, Hariri-led coalition and the Hizbullah-led opposition alliance. A few weeks ago pollsters predicted a narrow win for the opposition, which consists of the Shia Hizbullah, the secular Shia Amal movement, a Maronite Catholic party headed by former general Michel Aoun, and the Greek Orthodox Syrian Social Nationalist Party. Today the election is too close to call. The ruling coalition of Maronite, Sunni and Druze factions has boosted its prospects by recruiting diaspora voters.
Pollster Abdo Saad, of the Beirut Centre for Research and Information, says expatriates and money could decide the election. “If those who live in Lebanon vote and there is no vote-buying, the opposition would definitely win.” Of the 128 seats in parliament, 104 were decided months ago. Due to the country’s sectarian system and the map of its clans and ward bosses, most seats are fixed assets. This leaves 24 bitterly contested seats in five districts. Christians make up the swing vote.
Most but not all the returnees are Christians who could go for candidates either of the ruling coalition or of Hizbullah’s ally, Gen Aoun, who remains the most popular Maronite politician although his support has slipped recently.
Muhammad Mashnouk, an independent analyst, says the 2005 election was conducted “under the impact of the assassination” of Rafik Hariri, enabling the pro-western coalition to win. But, he observes, the “blood of Hariri” has diminished as a rallying cry.
The closeness of the race prompted US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and US vice-president Joe Biden to pay high-profile visits to Beirut during the past two months with the aim of boosting the Hariri coalition. However, this may have backfired. Hariri supporters know Washington is on the coalition’s side while its opponents and independent-minded Lebanese resent what they see as overt US intervention.
By contrast, Saudi Arabia, ally of the Hariri bloc, and Iran, aligned with Hizbullah, are relying on covert, indirect means to influence the poll. Syria, Iran’s regional ally, is using whatever political clout it enjoys to the advantage of the opposition in the expectation that Damascus will reap the reward of enhanced ties with Lebanon.
A wag quips: “Saudi Arabia and Iran pay the money and Syria takes a commission.”
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Hezbollah's Tentacles Reach Azerbaijan - VOTE FOR YOUR FUTURE
Fundamentalist Shiite octopus's tentacles reach Baku in Azerbaijan.
No, the Lebanese will tell you, especially the followers of Syria and the Free Patriotic Movement of Michel Aoun, Hezbollah is JUST a purely Lebanese organization whose goal is ONLY to liberate the south from the very bad - but largely non-existent - Israeli occupation of some abandoned rocky ravines called the Shebaa Farms.
But here is Hezbollah, after wiping out and murdering every American, Canadian, European and other friendly Christian clergyman, teacher, university administrator, and UN worker from Lebanon in the 1980s; blowing up every peacekeeping force that Lebanon needed badly in the 1980s; blowing up every embassy or consulate in Beirut; hijacking planes to Beirut; bombing a Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994; and recently trying to destabilize Egypt; now it was caught trying to bomb the Israeli embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Hezbollah's goals are not Lebanese. It is masquerading as a Lebanese welfare society, paying poor Lebanese Shiite villagers from Iranian money to muster their allegiance, make them wear burqas and beards, and herd them like sheep at massive rallies, supposedly to show its power..... and then acting at the behest of Iran to further destabilize Lebanon after 40 years of agony and suffering. As if the Lebanese haven't had enough "liberation" and "resistance", alone against Israel, when all the other fucking Arabs have made peace with Israel.
Is this what the Lebanese voter is going to vote for? The voters next Sunday who plan to vote for Hezbollah or its allies should ask themselves the question:
- Is this the Lebanon I want? A country of criminals, outlaws, terrorists?
- A country with the reputation of Jouret al-Khara - the cesspool?
- A country whose image abroad is that of bearded mullahs running the show with Kalashnikovs and martyrs and blood and more primitiveness and backwardness?
- A country at which all the cowards of Sunni Arab countries threw the Palestinian problem to deal with while they all washed their hands from it?
- The only fucking Arab country fighting Israel?
Is this what the Lebanese people? To be the useful brave idiots of the Arab world?
All the Arab countries are building and developing and advancing. They are joining the rest of the world with economic power and entrepreneurship. They are gradually leaving behind the defunct nostalgias and backwardness of the past...All of them, except Lebanon, which is gradually sinking backwards, its environment destroyed, its economy in shambles, its population brutalized and impoverished by decades of the same old resistance and Arab nationalism bullshit.
Kuwait has a quota for women in parliament and state instutions. Lebanon does not.
Every other Arab country is building a formidable airline, whereas Lebanon, whose Middle East Airline used to be the sole international airline in the region is now a nothing in the industry....
Arab countries are taking serious measures to protect their environments and invest in the future for the post-oil era... What is Lebanon doing? It is begging for 2 used Migs from Russia to "fight Israel".
If Lebanon is not the saddest, stupidest, self-inflicted tragedy yet of the 21st century, then I don;t know what is.
VOTE FOR THE FUTURE - DO NOT VOTE FOR THE PAST.
VOTE FOR NEW NAMES AND NEW FACES - AREN'T YOU TIRED OF THE SAME FAMILIES KILLING YOUR CHILDREN AND ROBBING YOU OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY FOR A BETTER LIFE?
VOTE YOUR FUTURE....
Hanibaal
No, the Lebanese will tell you, especially the followers of Syria and the Free Patriotic Movement of Michel Aoun, Hezbollah is JUST a purely Lebanese organization whose goal is ONLY to liberate the south from the very bad - but largely non-existent - Israeli occupation of some abandoned rocky ravines called the Shebaa Farms.
But here is Hezbollah, after wiping out and murdering every American, Canadian, European and other friendly Christian clergyman, teacher, university administrator, and UN worker from Lebanon in the 1980s; blowing up every peacekeeping force that Lebanon needed badly in the 1980s; blowing up every embassy or consulate in Beirut; hijacking planes to Beirut; bombing a Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994; and recently trying to destabilize Egypt; now it was caught trying to bomb the Israeli embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Hezbollah's goals are not Lebanese. It is masquerading as a Lebanese welfare society, paying poor Lebanese Shiite villagers from Iranian money to muster their allegiance, make them wear burqas and beards, and herd them like sheep at massive rallies, supposedly to show its power..... and then acting at the behest of Iran to further destabilize Lebanon after 40 years of agony and suffering. As if the Lebanese haven't had enough "liberation" and "resistance", alone against Israel, when all the other fucking Arabs have made peace with Israel.
Is this what the Lebanese voter is going to vote for? The voters next Sunday who plan to vote for Hezbollah or its allies should ask themselves the question:
- Is this the Lebanon I want? A country of criminals, outlaws, terrorists?
- A country with the reputation of Jouret al-Khara - the cesspool?
- A country whose image abroad is that of bearded mullahs running the show with Kalashnikovs and martyrs and blood and more primitiveness and backwardness?
- A country at which all the cowards of Sunni Arab countries threw the Palestinian problem to deal with while they all washed their hands from it?
- The only fucking Arab country fighting Israel?
Is this what the Lebanese people? To be the useful brave idiots of the Arab world?
All the Arab countries are building and developing and advancing. They are joining the rest of the world with economic power and entrepreneurship. They are gradually leaving behind the defunct nostalgias and backwardness of the past...All of them, except Lebanon, which is gradually sinking backwards, its environment destroyed, its economy in shambles, its population brutalized and impoverished by decades of the same old resistance and Arab nationalism bullshit.
Kuwait has a quota for women in parliament and state instutions. Lebanon does not.
Every other Arab country is building a formidable airline, whereas Lebanon, whose Middle East Airline used to be the sole international airline in the region is now a nothing in the industry....
Arab countries are taking serious measures to protect their environments and invest in the future for the post-oil era... What is Lebanon doing? It is begging for 2 used Migs from Russia to "fight Israel".
If Lebanon is not the saddest, stupidest, self-inflicted tragedy yet of the 21st century, then I don;t know what is.
VOTE FOR THE FUTURE - DO NOT VOTE FOR THE PAST.
VOTE FOR NEW NAMES AND NEW FACES - AREN'T YOU TIRED OF THE SAME FAMILIES KILLING YOUR CHILDREN AND ROBBING YOU OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY FOR A BETTER LIFE?
VOTE YOUR FUTURE....
Hanibaal
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Lebanon: Primitive Tobacco Dumping Ground of the World
The Lebanese claim to be fighting American imperialism and hegemony... But in their daily lives they behave like idiots, they are the guinea pigs for big american companies that sell the Lebanese everything that America does not want, like tobacco. The Lebanese take everything that is bad from America, but they don't take what is good from America, like separation of church and state, like real democracy, like real freedom. Smoking is one example. The Lebanese pay billions a year on smoking and they know that smoking causes them diseases. The money they pay for American cigarettes is money that ends up with American tobacco companies who them pay it in taxes to Uncle Sam, who in turn gives it to ISrael at the rate of 5 billion dollars a year, and then Israel bombs Lebanon to the ground.
By smoking, the Lebanese are funding Israel.
And of course, the Lebanese government makes its own money from cigarettes and tobacco....This is the Lebanese government that does not know how to distribute electricity to 3 million people. Compare that to a city like Mexico City or New York City that have 15 million people, and they have shortages of electricity once every 10 years. In Lebanon, it is once every 10 minutes.
This is the so-called "modern" Lebanon that the Lebanese brag about. This is the Lebanon in which garbage is everywhere, around every corner, every bend in the road, down the valleys on mountain roads, and behind every house.
The country stinks from diesel fumes, is rife with corruption, and is dominated by bearded religious people.
My advice to tourists: DO NOT GO TO LEBANON. YOU"LL CATCH CANCER FROM ALL THE SMOKING in your face, from all the pollution from diesel busses and trucks and from all the garbage. There is no electricity, no fast Internet, no reliable phones, cell phone rates are the highest in the world....Lebanon is a real dump.
Hanibaal
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Health professionals say number of smokers in Lebanon among highest in Middle East.
By Jocelyne Zablit - BEIRUT
Want to indulge in a guilt-free tobacco experience? Then head to Lebanon, a smoker's paradise where you can work, dine and have your hair styled in a cloud of smoke. The anti-smoking lobby is barely a blip on the radar and the government cares little about the issue.
So the price of Cuban Havanas is among the world's cheapest, cigarettes are free of punitive pricing and health warnings are barely visible on the side of packs -- far from the bold warnings and pictures the World Health Organisation (WHO) is promoting on "World No Tobacco Day" on Sunday.
Even teenagers can afford the average one dollar per pack, compared to an average seven dollars (five euros) in France or nearly nine dollars in Britain.
"The minute you land in this country you start huffing and puffing," said Ghazi Zaatari, a physician and chairman of the department of pathology at the American University of Beirut as well as head of a WHO study group on tobacco regulation.
"As far as tobacco is concerned, Lebanon is a health disaster."
George Saade, a cardiologist and head of the tobacco control unit at the ministry of health, presents a similar picture. "The Lebanese government is doing nothing as far as tobacco control is concerned," he lamented, partly attributing lax enforcement to a rocky political situation.
He said his unit, located in two small offices at the ministry, barely has a 20,000-dollar annual budget, a drop in the bucket compared to the millions available to the tobacco industry.
"Tobacco companies are very powerful in this country and they are involved in many things that would raise concerns of conflict of interest elsewhere," Saade said.
"They sponsor concerts, television shows and sports events where free cigarettes are sometimes distributed.
"You even see them at ski resorts," he added. "Where there are youths, there are tobacco companies."
The area manager for Philip Morris, the largest importer of cigarettes in Lebanon, rejected the accusations. "We market our products to adult smokers only and we're very strict about that," said Emile Moukarzel.
"We try our best to prevent minors from smoking, not only because it is mandated by the serious health effects of our product but also because it also makes business sense."
British American Tobacco, the second largest importer of cigarettes in Lebanon, had no one available to comment for this article.
Health professionals say the number of smokers in Lebanon is among the highest in the region and cancer-related illnesses directly linked to tobacco are rising at a rapid rate.
An estimated 3,500 people die annually from illnesses related to smoking, they said.
"In the last five years we have seen a 17-percent increase in cardio-vascular disease while the United States saw a 17-percent drop for the same period," Saade said.
Ironically, some of the local companies that market cigarettes are also the agents for cancer-fighting drugs.
Most worrisome is a growing trend of narghile, or water pipe, smokers, especially among teenagers who wrongly believe it is less harmful to their health than cigarettes, experts say.
"We are facing every day new evidence about narghile smoking, which is spreading among all age groups but more specifically among youths," said Rima Nakkash, an American University of Beirut professor who is doing research on the issue.
She said according to a 2005 survey carried out by WHO, 60 percent of youths in Lebanon aged between 13 and 15 smoke cigarettes, narghile or cigars, the highest number in the region.
Overall, an estimated 42 percent of males and 30 percent of females smoke in Lebanon, a country of 4.5 million inhabitants, health experts say.
"The tobacco industry has recognized the Middle East as one region of the world which has the least restrictive regulations compared to other countries, even in Asia," Zaatari said.
"So sometimes they use countries like Lebanon as dumping grounds for products they are unable to bring into other countries.
"And they are particularly interested in young people because once you're hooked, you're hooked for life," he added.
Zaatari also noted that although Lebanon signed WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005 it has failed to ratify the document and has shown little interest in enforcement.
For example a survey conducted at 40 restaurants nationwide in coordination with the Harvard School of Public Health showed that air quality in such establishments was, on average, hazardous by WHO standards.
"The thing with Lebanon is we are behind 20 or 30 years as far as tobacco control but we can learn from the experience of other countries," Nakkash said. "We can learn how they failed and succeeded.
"It's not like we are drawing up a nuclear strategy."
By smoking, the Lebanese are funding Israel.
And of course, the Lebanese government makes its own money from cigarettes and tobacco....This is the Lebanese government that does not know how to distribute electricity to 3 million people. Compare that to a city like Mexico City or New York City that have 15 million people, and they have shortages of electricity once every 10 years. In Lebanon, it is once every 10 minutes.
This is the so-called "modern" Lebanon that the Lebanese brag about. This is the Lebanon in which garbage is everywhere, around every corner, every bend in the road, down the valleys on mountain roads, and behind every house.
The country stinks from diesel fumes, is rife with corruption, and is dominated by bearded religious people.
My advice to tourists: DO NOT GO TO LEBANON. YOU"LL CATCH CANCER FROM ALL THE SMOKING in your face, from all the pollution from diesel busses and trucks and from all the garbage. There is no electricity, no fast Internet, no reliable phones, cell phone rates are the highest in the world....Lebanon is a real dump.
Hanibaal
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Health professionals say number of smokers in Lebanon among highest in Middle East.
By Jocelyne Zablit - BEIRUT
Want to indulge in a guilt-free tobacco experience? Then head to Lebanon, a smoker's paradise where you can work, dine and have your hair styled in a cloud of smoke. The anti-smoking lobby is barely a blip on the radar and the government cares little about the issue.
So the price of Cuban Havanas is among the world's cheapest, cigarettes are free of punitive pricing and health warnings are barely visible on the side of packs -- far from the bold warnings and pictures the World Health Organisation (WHO) is promoting on "World No Tobacco Day" on Sunday.
Even teenagers can afford the average one dollar per pack, compared to an average seven dollars (five euros) in France or nearly nine dollars in Britain.
"The minute you land in this country you start huffing and puffing," said Ghazi Zaatari, a physician and chairman of the department of pathology at the American University of Beirut as well as head of a WHO study group on tobacco regulation.
"As far as tobacco is concerned, Lebanon is a health disaster."
George Saade, a cardiologist and head of the tobacco control unit at the ministry of health, presents a similar picture. "The Lebanese government is doing nothing as far as tobacco control is concerned," he lamented, partly attributing lax enforcement to a rocky political situation.
He said his unit, located in two small offices at the ministry, barely has a 20,000-dollar annual budget, a drop in the bucket compared to the millions available to the tobacco industry.
"Tobacco companies are very powerful in this country and they are involved in many things that would raise concerns of conflict of interest elsewhere," Saade said.
"They sponsor concerts, television shows and sports events where free cigarettes are sometimes distributed.
"You even see them at ski resorts," he added. "Where there are youths, there are tobacco companies."
The area manager for Philip Morris, the largest importer of cigarettes in Lebanon, rejected the accusations. "We market our products to adult smokers only and we're very strict about that," said Emile Moukarzel.
"We try our best to prevent minors from smoking, not only because it is mandated by the serious health effects of our product but also because it also makes business sense."
British American Tobacco, the second largest importer of cigarettes in Lebanon, had no one available to comment for this article.
Health professionals say the number of smokers in Lebanon is among the highest in the region and cancer-related illnesses directly linked to tobacco are rising at a rapid rate.
An estimated 3,500 people die annually from illnesses related to smoking, they said.
"In the last five years we have seen a 17-percent increase in cardio-vascular disease while the United States saw a 17-percent drop for the same period," Saade said.
Ironically, some of the local companies that market cigarettes are also the agents for cancer-fighting drugs.
Most worrisome is a growing trend of narghile, or water pipe, smokers, especially among teenagers who wrongly believe it is less harmful to their health than cigarettes, experts say.
"We are facing every day new evidence about narghile smoking, which is spreading among all age groups but more specifically among youths," said Rima Nakkash, an American University of Beirut professor who is doing research on the issue.
She said according to a 2005 survey carried out by WHO, 60 percent of youths in Lebanon aged between 13 and 15 smoke cigarettes, narghile or cigars, the highest number in the region.
Overall, an estimated 42 percent of males and 30 percent of females smoke in Lebanon, a country of 4.5 million inhabitants, health experts say.
"The tobacco industry has recognized the Middle East as one region of the world which has the least restrictive regulations compared to other countries, even in Asia," Zaatari said.
"So sometimes they use countries like Lebanon as dumping grounds for products they are unable to bring into other countries.
"And they are particularly interested in young people because once you're hooked, you're hooked for life," he added.
Zaatari also noted that although Lebanon signed WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005 it has failed to ratify the document and has shown little interest in enforcement.
For example a survey conducted at 40 restaurants nationwide in coordination with the Harvard School of Public Health showed that air quality in such establishments was, on average, hazardous by WHO standards.
"The thing with Lebanon is we are behind 20 or 30 years as far as tobacco control but we can learn from the experience of other countries," Nakkash said. "We can learn how they failed and succeeded.
"It's not like we are drawing up a nuclear strategy."
Friday, May 29, 2009
Hariri: Prototype of Hopeless Arab Nationalism
1. Saad Hariri's father was killed by a bomb in 2005 - Syria and/or Hezbollah are the main culprits.
2. Saad Hariri's political allies, friends and aides in Lebanon were hunted down and murdered by car bombs and assassinations during 2 years, again with Syria and/or Hezbollah's hands behind the wave of attacks.
3. Saad Hariri is running on a platform that Lebanon is first, Lebanon's causes come before other causes, stability, peace, independence and sovereignty come before everything else.
4. Saad Hariri, as the political infant he is, has been bottle-fed by Saudi Arabia and the United States. Without them, he would be a nothing. He is allied with the anti-Syrian, anti-Iranian, and anti-Hezbollah forces in the international community.
Yet:
5. At the first opportunity that this idiot has to speak, he blurts out the same old and putrid slogans of pan-Arab nationalism, in which people who killed his father and ruined his country (Syria, Iran and Hezbollah) are his "brothers", and his neighbor who is fighting his enemy for him becomes his "enemy".
I know it is difficult to understand the mind of a fucking Sunni Arab and how it works. It just is completely upside down on logic. And as long as the SUnnis of Lebanon continue to think this way, Lebanon will not know peace. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the Lebanese Sunnis favored Arab nationalism and Palestinian nationalism over Lebanon, and they destroyed Lebanon in the process. Then they said they learned their lessons. But now that they should see Syria and Hezbollah as their real enemy, and Israel as just a neighbor with which to make peace and get on with life (like Egypt, like Jordan, and like the Palestinians themselves...), they instead continue to kiss the hand that is killing them and make an enemy of those withe whom they should be friends.
Just notice the contradicting statements below (in bold) made by Hariri recently.
Hanibaal
--------------------------------------------------------
From Xinhua news agency:
Lebanese Sunni majority leader Saad Hariri said Wednesday that he is against Israel because it is the enemy, Future TV reported Thursday.
"We are neither against Iran nor against Syria, we are only against Israel because it is our enemy," Hariri told a gathering in West Bekaa during his election campaign.
He stressed that his pro-government coalition of March 14 forces wants Lebanon to have good relations with all countries.
He also said coexistence among Lebanese remains to be the basis of building a state, highlighting the importance of maintaining calm in the country.
Hariri said that his coalition's conflict with Hezbollah-led opposition was based on political disagreement over key issues, such as security and economy, as well as the decision of war and peace.
Hariri's coalition blamed Hezbollah for the 2006 July war with Israel, while they believe that Hezbollah did not consult the Lebanese government before kidnapping the two Israeli soldiers that provoked a 34-day devastating war.
Sunni leader Hariri, has been leading the political campaign against Syria, which he accused of being behind his father's assassination in 2005. He also accused Lebanese Shiite armed group Hezbollah of carrying out the Iranian instruction in Lebanon.
2. Saad Hariri's political allies, friends and aides in Lebanon were hunted down and murdered by car bombs and assassinations during 2 years, again with Syria and/or Hezbollah's hands behind the wave of attacks.
3. Saad Hariri is running on a platform that Lebanon is first, Lebanon's causes come before other causes, stability, peace, independence and sovereignty come before everything else.
4. Saad Hariri, as the political infant he is, has been bottle-fed by Saudi Arabia and the United States. Without them, he would be a nothing. He is allied with the anti-Syrian, anti-Iranian, and anti-Hezbollah forces in the international community.
Yet:
5. At the first opportunity that this idiot has to speak, he blurts out the same old and putrid slogans of pan-Arab nationalism, in which people who killed his father and ruined his country (Syria, Iran and Hezbollah) are his "brothers", and his neighbor who is fighting his enemy for him becomes his "enemy".
I know it is difficult to understand the mind of a fucking Sunni Arab and how it works. It just is completely upside down on logic. And as long as the SUnnis of Lebanon continue to think this way, Lebanon will not know peace. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the Lebanese Sunnis favored Arab nationalism and Palestinian nationalism over Lebanon, and they destroyed Lebanon in the process. Then they said they learned their lessons. But now that they should see Syria and Hezbollah as their real enemy, and Israel as just a neighbor with which to make peace and get on with life (like Egypt, like Jordan, and like the Palestinians themselves...), they instead continue to kiss the hand that is killing them and make an enemy of those withe whom they should be friends.
Just notice the contradicting statements below (in bold) made by Hariri recently.
Hanibaal
--------------------------------------------------------
From Xinhua news agency:
Lebanese Sunni majority leader Saad Hariri said Wednesday that he is against Israel because it is the enemy, Future TV reported Thursday.
"We are neither against Iran nor against Syria, we are only against Israel because it is our enemy," Hariri told a gathering in West Bekaa during his election campaign.
He stressed that his pro-government coalition of March 14 forces wants Lebanon to have good relations with all countries.
He also said coexistence among Lebanese remains to be the basis of building a state, highlighting the importance of maintaining calm in the country.
Hariri said that his coalition's conflict with Hezbollah-led opposition was based on political disagreement over key issues, such as security and economy, as well as the decision of war and peace.
Hariri's coalition blamed Hezbollah for the 2006 July war with Israel, while they believe that Hezbollah did not consult the Lebanese government before kidnapping the two Israeli soldiers that provoked a 34-day devastating war.
Sunni leader Hariri, has been leading the political campaign against Syria, which he accused of being behind his father's assassination in 2005. He also accused Lebanese Shiite armed group Hezbollah of carrying out the Iranian instruction in Lebanon.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
War Again in Middle East & Lebanon Again its Front
Kill me once, kill me twice: Will Lebanon finally Expire?
The formula hasn't changed since the mid 1960s. Mighty actors fighting it out in the Middle East, and Lebanon is the boxing ring where they settle their scores.
This time, the players are lining up in this manner:
- Nuclear Iran, on the verge of elections that pose a challenge to Ahamdinejad's hardline approach.
- A proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon ready to execute Tehran's orders, no matter how destructive they might be to Lebanon. Lebanon's parliamentary elections this June 7 appear to be headed for a victory by Hezbollah, thus replicating in Lebanon the Hamas-in-Gaza syndrome.
- A weak-pacifist Obama administration, which for all its good intentions and goodwill, does not look like it has either the recipe or the mettle to force a solution. Obama can tough-talk the Israelis as much as he wants, but the powerful Jewish lobby will make him pay a dear price if he crosses the lines set for US policy on Israel.
- A relatively weak new government in Israel in which Netanyahu is trying to show that he can do more or better than his predecessor. Using the Iranian nuclear threat as a pretext, Netanyahu will go forward with an attack against Tehran, which would derail whatever is left of a peace process, thus giving Israel the lebensraum to build more settlements and steal more land from their "partners", the moderate Palestinians. Netanyahu may not wait for the Iranian elections: The Ahmadinejad pretext may not be available if the moderates win in Iran.
So the question I ask myself these days:
If Israel attacks Iran's nuclear sites some time this summer, like it did with Iraq's Ozirak back in 1981, what is the likely result?
- Iran's long range missiles are basically useless because of the distance, much like Saddam's missiles of 1991. The only chance that they may have a serious impact is that if they carry nuclear heads, which, according to all estimates, Iran is still far from having.
- Any retaliation that Iran might think about is really a Hezbollah barrage onto Israel from southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah has sotckpiled - both before and after UN resolution 1701 in 2006 - an arsenal of upwards of 30,000 missiles.
- Both the Israelis and the Hezbollah terrorists have learned much from their 2006 war: Hezbollah knows that the only price it will have to pay is a revolt by the Lebanese people who really care less for the ideological underpinnings of Hezbollah's hatred of Israel than to pay like idiots, yet again, the price of the wars of outsiders. As Israel has said many times in the recent past, with Hezbollah in the Lebanese government (even now in the current government, and definitely if it wins the elections), then Israel's target this time will be the Lebanese State, its institutions, government facilities, its army, etc... Thus a more savage retaliation by Israel than in 2006 is likely to force a deeper wedge between the Lebanese people and Hezbollah.
- But Hezbollah is at the end of its rope. It has alienated the Lebanese in 2006, who still went along with the argument of an Israeli overreaction, or the liberation of fucking Shebaa, or all the other unjustifiable justifications. It then alienated them even more in May 2008 when its goons overran the streets and killed people right and left just because the government ordered it to shut down its own spy communications system. There is so much that a people like the Lebanese, who have been brutalized for 40 years because of fucking Palestine and Arabism and all the other ideologies they care very little about, can take. We are quickly approaching the breakpoint between the two camps in Lebanon.
- Thus, a brief, but very intense war between Hezbollah and Israel is likely to degenerate into a Lebanese civil war, much like the schism between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in Palestine. In Lebanon, there will be two governments, one Shiite-led, one Sunni-led, each with its own Christian allies (as the Christian camp is already divided between the two). Hezbollah might exercise authority over the south and east of the country, up to the southern suburbs of Beirut, while the Sunni camp will rule north of Beirut. Like in 1975-1976, when Lebanon descended into anarchy during the equally pacifist Carter administration, this time around, Obama is likely to remain engaged in futile diplomacy while the killing goes on.
The fact is that Hezbollah in Lebanon will never disarm by itself , and as long as it is supported by Iran and Syria, it will only be disarmed by force. And the Lebanese people will pay the price with a protracted war, like they did when the PLO was disarmed in 1982 (in Beirut) by an Israeli invasion and after close to two decades of fighting Israel from Lebanon. The parallels between the PLO episode and the Hezbollah episode are uncanny: Their conclusions are likely to be very similar.
So my fellow Lebanese: Brace yourselves. Stockpile canned food, candles, gasoline, and generators. Here we go again.
Hanibaal
The formula hasn't changed since the mid 1960s. Mighty actors fighting it out in the Middle East, and Lebanon is the boxing ring where they settle their scores.
This time, the players are lining up in this manner:
- Nuclear Iran, on the verge of elections that pose a challenge to Ahamdinejad's hardline approach.
- A proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon ready to execute Tehran's orders, no matter how destructive they might be to Lebanon. Lebanon's parliamentary elections this June 7 appear to be headed for a victory by Hezbollah, thus replicating in Lebanon the Hamas-in-Gaza syndrome.
- A weak-pacifist Obama administration, which for all its good intentions and goodwill, does not look like it has either the recipe or the mettle to force a solution. Obama can tough-talk the Israelis as much as he wants, but the powerful Jewish lobby will make him pay a dear price if he crosses the lines set for US policy on Israel.
- A relatively weak new government in Israel in which Netanyahu is trying to show that he can do more or better than his predecessor. Using the Iranian nuclear threat as a pretext, Netanyahu will go forward with an attack against Tehran, which would derail whatever is left of a peace process, thus giving Israel the lebensraum to build more settlements and steal more land from their "partners", the moderate Palestinians. Netanyahu may not wait for the Iranian elections: The Ahmadinejad pretext may not be available if the moderates win in Iran.
So the question I ask myself these days:
If Israel attacks Iran's nuclear sites some time this summer, like it did with Iraq's Ozirak back in 1981, what is the likely result?
- Iran's long range missiles are basically useless because of the distance, much like Saddam's missiles of 1991. The only chance that they may have a serious impact is that if they carry nuclear heads, which, according to all estimates, Iran is still far from having.
- Any retaliation that Iran might think about is really a Hezbollah barrage onto Israel from southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah has sotckpiled - both before and after UN resolution 1701 in 2006 - an arsenal of upwards of 30,000 missiles.
- Both the Israelis and the Hezbollah terrorists have learned much from their 2006 war: Hezbollah knows that the only price it will have to pay is a revolt by the Lebanese people who really care less for the ideological underpinnings of Hezbollah's hatred of Israel than to pay like idiots, yet again, the price of the wars of outsiders. As Israel has said many times in the recent past, with Hezbollah in the Lebanese government (even now in the current government, and definitely if it wins the elections), then Israel's target this time will be the Lebanese State, its institutions, government facilities, its army, etc... Thus a more savage retaliation by Israel than in 2006 is likely to force a deeper wedge between the Lebanese people and Hezbollah.
- But Hezbollah is at the end of its rope. It has alienated the Lebanese in 2006, who still went along with the argument of an Israeli overreaction, or the liberation of fucking Shebaa, or all the other unjustifiable justifications. It then alienated them even more in May 2008 when its goons overran the streets and killed people right and left just because the government ordered it to shut down its own spy communications system. There is so much that a people like the Lebanese, who have been brutalized for 40 years because of fucking Palestine and Arabism and all the other ideologies they care very little about, can take. We are quickly approaching the breakpoint between the two camps in Lebanon.
- Thus, a brief, but very intense war between Hezbollah and Israel is likely to degenerate into a Lebanese civil war, much like the schism between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in Palestine. In Lebanon, there will be two governments, one Shiite-led, one Sunni-led, each with its own Christian allies (as the Christian camp is already divided between the two). Hezbollah might exercise authority over the south and east of the country, up to the southern suburbs of Beirut, while the Sunni camp will rule north of Beirut. Like in 1975-1976, when Lebanon descended into anarchy during the equally pacifist Carter administration, this time around, Obama is likely to remain engaged in futile diplomacy while the killing goes on.
The fact is that Hezbollah in Lebanon will never disarm by itself , and as long as it is supported by Iran and Syria, it will only be disarmed by force. And the Lebanese people will pay the price with a protracted war, like they did when the PLO was disarmed in 1982 (in Beirut) by an Israeli invasion and after close to two decades of fighting Israel from Lebanon. The parallels between the PLO episode and the Hezbollah episode are uncanny: Their conclusions are likely to be very similar.
So my fellow Lebanese: Brace yourselves. Stockpile canned food, candles, gasoline, and generators. Here we go again.
Hanibaal
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Hezbollah Behind Hariri Assassination: So What's New?
Check my previous post and you'll see that the "new" discovery by the International Tribunal for Lebanon of Hezbollah's responsibility in the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the Syrian puppet Prime Minister of Lebanon and corrupt billionaire, makes as every bit of sense. While both Hezbollah (militarily) and Hariri (politically and financially) were Syrian lackeys prior to 2004, Hariri was eventually convinced by the Americans to drop the Syrian tutelage that he thrived under during much of the 1990s and early 2000s. As soon as he began steering away from his incestuous relationship with Syria, the Bashar Assad Baathist regime in Damascus activated its Hezbollah terrorists and former Hariri allies, who planted a gargantuan bomb in February 2005 in downtown Beirut, specially designed for the ultra-fat, ultra-obese pig that Hariri was and his ultra-protected armored cars.
I, for one, did not shed a tear for Hariri, even though many of his former pro-Syrian collaborators - including Amin Gemayel, Walid Jumblatt, Samir Geagea, and every other traditional, feudal politician asshole in Lebanon switched camps, suddenly discovering the values of freedom, independence and sovereignty (which they themselves raped for more than 30 years) and exploiting the anger of the Lebanese people by containing (and thus ultimately defeating) the Lebanese people's Cedars Revolution.
Today, no revolution has taken place. Yes, the Syrians have left, but, one, their allies (Hezbollah's Hassan NAsrallah, Amal's Nabih Berri, and the turncoat Michel Aoun's FPM) are still there doing Syria's bidding, and two, all the so-called anti-Syrians (Siniora, Hariri, Jumblatt, Gemayel and Geagea) do not spare a moment without praising Syria and kissing Assad's ass and refusing to negotiate a civilized peace settlement with Israel to end all of the pretexts that have been used for 40 years to drive Lebanon to the ground as the only fucking Arab country fighting and "resisting" Israel.
Hanibaal
-------------------------------------------------------
SPIEGEL ONLINE
05/23/2009 01:31 PM
BREAKTHROUGH IN TRIBUNAL INVESTIGATION
New Evidence Points to Hezbollah in Hariri Murder
By Erich Follath
The United Nations special tribunal investigating the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri has reached surprising new conclusions -- and it is keeping them secret. According to information obtained by SPIEGEL, investigators now believe Hezbollah was behind the Hariri murder.
It was an act of virtually Shakespearean dimensions, a family tragedy involving murder and suicide, contrived and real tears -- and a good deal of big-time politics.
The terror attack in Beirut on Valentine's Day, 2005: Intensive investigations in Lebanon are all pointing to Hezbollah and not Syria.
On February 14, 2005, Valentine's Day, at 12:56 p.m., a massive bomb exploded in front of the Hotel St. Georges in Beirut, just as the motorcade of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri passed by. The explosives ripped a crater two meters deep into the street, and the blast destroyed the local branch of Britain's HSBC Bank. Body parts were hurled as far as the roofs of surrounding buildings. Twenty-three people died in the explosion and ensuing inferno, including Hariri, his bodyguards and passersby.
The shock waves quickly spread across the Middle East. Why did Hariri have to die? Who carried out the attack and who was behind it? What did they hope to achieve politically?
The Hariri assassination has been the source of wild speculation ever since. Was it the work of terrorist organization al-Qaida, angered by Hariri's close ties to the Saudi royal family? Or of the Israelis, as part of their constant efforts to weaken neighboring Lebanon? Or the Iranians, who hated secularist Hariri?
At the time of the attack, it was known that Hariri, a billionaire construction magnate who was responsible for the reconstruction of the Lebanese capital after decades of civil war, wanted to reenter politics. It was also known that he had had a falling out with Syrian President Bashar Assad after demanding the withdrawal of Syrian occupation forces from his native Lebanon. As a result, the prime suspects in the murder were the powerful Syrian military and intelligence agency, as well as their Lebanese henchmen. The pressure on Damascus came at an opportune time for the US government. Then-President George W. Bush had placed Syria on his list of rogue states and wanted to isolate the regime internationally.
In late 2005, an investigation team approved by the United Nations and headed by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis found, after seven months of research, that Syrian security forces and high-ranking Lebanese officials were in fact responsible for the Hariri murder. Four suspects were arrested. But the smoking gun, the final piece of evidence, was not found. The pace of the investigation stalled under Mehlis's Belgian successor, Serge Brammertz.
The establishment of a UN special tribunal was intended to provide certainty. It began its work on March 1, 2009. The tribunal, headquartered in the town of Leidschendam in the Netherlands, has a budget of more than €40 million ($56 million) for the first year alone, with the UN paying 51 percent and Beirut 49 percent of the cost. It has an initial mandate for three years, and the most severe sentence it can impose is life in prison. Canadian Daniel Bellemare, 57, was appointed to head the tribunal. Four of the 11 judges are Lebanese, whose identities have been kept secret, for security reasons.
As its first official act, the tribunal ordered the release, in early April, of the four men Mehlis had had arrested. By then, they had already spent more than three years sitting in a Lebanese prison. Since then, it has been deathly quiet in Leidschendam, as if the investigation had just begun and there were nothing to say.
But now there are signs that the investigation has yielded new and explosive results. SPIEGEL has learned from sources close to the tribunal and verified by examining internal documents, that the Hariri case is about to take a sensational turn. Intensive investigations in Lebanon are all pointing to a new conclusion: that it was not the Syrians, but instead special forces of the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah ("Party of God") that planned and executed the diabolical attack. Tribunal chief Bellemare and his fellow judges apparently want to hold back this information, of which they been aware for about a month. What are they afraid of?
According to the detailed information provided by the SPIEGEL source, the fact that the case may have been "cracked" is the result of a mixture of serendipity à la Sherlock Holmes and the state-of-the-art technology used by cyber detectives. In months of painstaking work, a secretly operating special unit of the Lebanese security forces, headed by intelligence expert Captain Wissam Eid, filtered out the numbers of mobile phones that could be pinpointed to the area surrounding Hariri on the days leading up to the attack and on the date of the murder itself. The investigators referred to these mobile phones as the "first circle of hell."
Captain Eid's team eventually identified eight mobile phones, all of which had been purchased on the same day in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. They were activated six weeks before the assassination, and they were used exclusively for communication among their users and -- with the exception of one case -- were no longer used after the attack. They were apparently tools of the hit team that carried out the terrorist attack.
But there was also a "second circle of hell," a network of about 20 mobile phones that were identified as being in proximity to the first eight phones noticeably often. According to the Lebanese security forces, all of the numbers involved apparently belong to the "operational arm" of Hezbollah, which maintains a militia in Lebanon that is more powerful than the regular Lebanese army. While part of the Party of God acts like a normal political organization, participating in democratic elections and appointing cabinet ministers, the other part uses less savory tactics, such as abductions near the Israeli border and terrorist attacks, such those committed against Jewish facilities in South America in 2002 and 2004.
The whereabouts of the two Beirut groups of mobile phone users coincided again and again, and they were sometimes located near the site of the attack. The romantic attachment of one of the terrorists led the cyber-detectives directly to one of the main suspects. He committed the unbelievable indiscretion of calling his girlfriend from one of the "hot" phones. It only happened once, but it was enough to identify the man. He is believed to be Abd al-Majid Ghamlush, from the town of Rumin, a Hezbollah member who had completed training course in Iran. Ghamlush was also identified as the buyer of the mobile phones. He has since disappeared, and perhaps is no longer alive.
Revelations Will Likely Harm Hezbollah
Ghamlush's recklessness led investigators to the man they now suspect was the mastermind of the terrorist attack: Hajj Salim, 45. A southern Lebanese from Nabatiyah, Salim is considered to be the commander of the "military" wing of Hezbollah and lives in South Beirut, a Shiite stronghold. Salim's secret "Special Operational Unit" reports directly to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, 48.
Imad Mughniyah, one of the world's most wanted terrorists, ran the unit until Feb. 12, 2008, when he was killed in an attack in Damascus, presumably by Israeli intelligence. Since then, Salim has largely assumed the duties of his notorious predecessor, with Mughniyah's brother-in-law, Mustafa Badr al-Din, serving as his deputy. The two men report only to their superior, and to General Kassim Sulaimani, their contact in Tehran. The Iranians, the principal financiers of the military Lebanese "Party of God," have repressed the Syrians' influence.
The deeper the investigators in Beirut penetrated into the case, the clearer the picture became, according to the SPIEGEL source. They have apparently discovered which Hezbollah member obtained the small Mitsubishi truck used in the attack. They have also been able to trace the origins of the explosives, more than 1,000 kilograms of TNT, C4 and hexogen.
The Lebanese chief investigator and true hero of the story didn't live to witness many of the recent successes in the investigation. Captain Eid, 31, was killed in a terrorist attack in the Beirut suburb of Hazmiyah on Jan. 25, 2008. The attack, in which three other people were also killed, was apparently intended to slow down the investigation. And, once again, there was evidence of involvement by the Hezbollah commando unit, just as there has been in each of more than a dozen attacks against prominent Lebanese in the last four years.
This leaves the question of motive unanswered. Many had an interest in Hariri's death. Why should Hezbollah -- or its backers in Iran -- be responsible?
Hariri's growing popularity could have been a thorn in the side of Lebanese Shiite leader Nasrallah. In 2005, the billionaire began to outstrip the revolutionary leader in terms of popularity. Besides, he stood for everything the fanatical and spartan Hezbollah leader hated: close ties to the West and a prominent position among moderate Arab heads of state, an opulent lifestyle, and membership in the competing Sunni faith. Hariri was, in a sense, the alternative to Nasrallah.
Whether Lebanon has developed in the direction the Hezbollah leader apparently imagined seems doubtful. Immediately after the spectacular terrorist attack on Valentine's Day in 2005, a wave of sympathy for the murdered politician swept across the country. The so-called "cedar revolution" brought a pro-Western government to power, and the son of the murdered man emerged as the most important party leader and strongest figure operating in the background. Saad al-Hariri, 39, could have become prime minister of Lebanon long ago -- if he were willing to accept the risks and felt sufficiently qualified to hold office. After the Hariri murder, the Syrian occupation force left the country in response to international and domestic Lebanese pressure.
But not everything has gone wrong from Hezbollah's standpoint. In July 2006, Nasrallah, by kidnapping Israeli soldiers, provoked Israel to launch a war against Lebanon. Hezbollah defied the superior military power, solidifying its image as a resistance movement in large parts of the Arab world. If there were democratic opinion polls in the Middle East, Nasrallah would probably be voted the most popular leader. The highly anticipated June 7 elections will demonstrate whether the Lebanese will allow Nasrallah to radicalize them again. Once again, he is entering into the election campaign in a dual role. He is both the secretary-general of the "Party of God," represented in the parliament since 1992, and the head of Hezbollah's militia, part of a state within a state that makes its own laws.
Hezbollah currently holds 14 of 128 seats in parliament, a number that is expected to rise. Some even believe that dramatic gains are possible for Hezbollah, although landslide-like changes in the Lebanese parliamentary system are relatively unlikely. A system of religious proportionality ensures, with list alliances arranged in advance, that about two-thirds of the seats in parliament are assigned before an election. In the cedar state, a Sunni must always be prime minister, while the Shiites are entitled to the office of speaker of parliament and the Christians the relatively unimportant office of the president.
Hezbollah has not managed to upset this system, adopted decades ago, even though it objectively puts its clientele at a disadvantage. As a result of differences in birthrates, there are now far more Shiites than Sunnis or Christians in Lebanon. Some say that Nasrallah isn't even interested in securing power through elections, and that the "Party of God" would be satisfied with a modest share of the government. By not taking on too much government responsibility, Hezbollah would not be forced to dissolve its militias and make significant changes to its ideology of resistance.
The revelations about the alleged orchestrators of the Hariri murder will likely harm Hezbollah. Large segments of the population are weary of internal conflicts and are anxious for reconciliation. The leader of the movement, which, despite its formal recognition of the democratic rules of the game, remains on the US's list of terrorist organizations, probably anticipates forthcoming problems with the UN tribunal. In a speech in Beirut, Nasrallah spoke of the tribunal's "conspiratorial intentions."
The revelations are likely to be just as unwelcome in Tehran, which sees itself confronted, once again, with the charge of exporting terrorism. Damascus's view of the situation could be more mixed. Although the Syrian government is not being declared free of the suspicion of involvement, at least President Assad is no longer in the line of fire. Hardly anything suggests anymore that he was personally aware of the murder plot or even ordered the killing.
One can only speculate over the reasons why the Hariri tribunal is holding back its new information about the assassination. Perhaps the investigators in the Netherlands fear that it could stir up the situation in Lebanon. On Friday evening, the press office in Leidschendam responded tersely to a written inquiry from SPIEGEL, noting that it could not comment on "operational details."
Detlev Mehlis, 60, the German senior prosecutor and former UN chief investigator, has his own set of concerns. He performed his investigation to the best of his knowledge and belief, questioning more than 500 witnesses, and now he must put up with the accusation of having focused his attention too heavily on Syrian leads. The UN tribunal's order to release the generals who were arrested at his specific request is, at any rate, a serious blow to the German prosecutor.
One of the four, Jamal al-Sayyid, the former head of Lebanese intelligence, has even filed a suit against Mehlis in France for "manipulated investigations." In media interviews, such as an interview with the Al-Jazeera Arab television network last week, Sayyid has even taken his allegations a step further, accusing German police commissioner Gerhard Lehmann, Mehlis's assistant in the Beirut investigations, of blackmail.
Sayyid claims that Lehmann, a member of Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) proposed a deal with the Syrian president to the Lebanese man. Under the alleged arrangement, Assad would identify the person responsible for the Hariri killing and convince him to commit suicide, and then the case would be closed. According to Sayyid, the authorities in Beirut made "unethical proposals, as well as threats," and he claims that he has recordings of the incriminating conversations.
Mehlis denies all accusations. Lehmann, now working on a new assignment in Saudi Arabia, was unavailable for comment. But the spotlight-loving Jamil al-Sayyid could soon be embarking on a new career. He is under consideration for the post of Lebanon's next justice minister.
Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan.
I, for one, did not shed a tear for Hariri, even though many of his former pro-Syrian collaborators - including Amin Gemayel, Walid Jumblatt, Samir Geagea, and every other traditional, feudal politician asshole in Lebanon switched camps, suddenly discovering the values of freedom, independence and sovereignty (which they themselves raped for more than 30 years) and exploiting the anger of the Lebanese people by containing (and thus ultimately defeating) the Lebanese people's Cedars Revolution.
Today, no revolution has taken place. Yes, the Syrians have left, but, one, their allies (Hezbollah's Hassan NAsrallah, Amal's Nabih Berri, and the turncoat Michel Aoun's FPM) are still there doing Syria's bidding, and two, all the so-called anti-Syrians (Siniora, Hariri, Jumblatt, Gemayel and Geagea) do not spare a moment without praising Syria and kissing Assad's ass and refusing to negotiate a civilized peace settlement with Israel to end all of the pretexts that have been used for 40 years to drive Lebanon to the ground as the only fucking Arab country fighting and "resisting" Israel.
Hanibaal
-------------------------------------------------------
SPIEGEL ONLINE
05/23/2009 01:31 PM
BREAKTHROUGH IN TRIBUNAL INVESTIGATION
New Evidence Points to Hezbollah in Hariri Murder
By Erich Follath
The United Nations special tribunal investigating the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri has reached surprising new conclusions -- and it is keeping them secret. According to information obtained by SPIEGEL, investigators now believe Hezbollah was behind the Hariri murder.
It was an act of virtually Shakespearean dimensions, a family tragedy involving murder and suicide, contrived and real tears -- and a good deal of big-time politics.
The terror attack in Beirut on Valentine's Day, 2005: Intensive investigations in Lebanon are all pointing to Hezbollah and not Syria.
On February 14, 2005, Valentine's Day, at 12:56 p.m., a massive bomb exploded in front of the Hotel St. Georges in Beirut, just as the motorcade of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri passed by. The explosives ripped a crater two meters deep into the street, and the blast destroyed the local branch of Britain's HSBC Bank. Body parts were hurled as far as the roofs of surrounding buildings. Twenty-three people died in the explosion and ensuing inferno, including Hariri, his bodyguards and passersby.
The shock waves quickly spread across the Middle East. Why did Hariri have to die? Who carried out the attack and who was behind it? What did they hope to achieve politically?
The Hariri assassination has been the source of wild speculation ever since. Was it the work of terrorist organization al-Qaida, angered by Hariri's close ties to the Saudi royal family? Or of the Israelis, as part of their constant efforts to weaken neighboring Lebanon? Or the Iranians, who hated secularist Hariri?
At the time of the attack, it was known that Hariri, a billionaire construction magnate who was responsible for the reconstruction of the Lebanese capital after decades of civil war, wanted to reenter politics. It was also known that he had had a falling out with Syrian President Bashar Assad after demanding the withdrawal of Syrian occupation forces from his native Lebanon. As a result, the prime suspects in the murder were the powerful Syrian military and intelligence agency, as well as their Lebanese henchmen. The pressure on Damascus came at an opportune time for the US government. Then-President George W. Bush had placed Syria on his list of rogue states and wanted to isolate the regime internationally.
In late 2005, an investigation team approved by the United Nations and headed by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis found, after seven months of research, that Syrian security forces and high-ranking Lebanese officials were in fact responsible for the Hariri murder. Four suspects were arrested. But the smoking gun, the final piece of evidence, was not found. The pace of the investigation stalled under Mehlis's Belgian successor, Serge Brammertz.
The establishment of a UN special tribunal was intended to provide certainty. It began its work on March 1, 2009. The tribunal, headquartered in the town of Leidschendam in the Netherlands, has a budget of more than €40 million ($56 million) for the first year alone, with the UN paying 51 percent and Beirut 49 percent of the cost. It has an initial mandate for three years, and the most severe sentence it can impose is life in prison. Canadian Daniel Bellemare, 57, was appointed to head the tribunal. Four of the 11 judges are Lebanese, whose identities have been kept secret, for security reasons.
As its first official act, the tribunal ordered the release, in early April, of the four men Mehlis had had arrested. By then, they had already spent more than three years sitting in a Lebanese prison. Since then, it has been deathly quiet in Leidschendam, as if the investigation had just begun and there were nothing to say.
But now there are signs that the investigation has yielded new and explosive results. SPIEGEL has learned from sources close to the tribunal and verified by examining internal documents, that the Hariri case is about to take a sensational turn. Intensive investigations in Lebanon are all pointing to a new conclusion: that it was not the Syrians, but instead special forces of the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah ("Party of God") that planned and executed the diabolical attack. Tribunal chief Bellemare and his fellow judges apparently want to hold back this information, of which they been aware for about a month. What are they afraid of?
According to the detailed information provided by the SPIEGEL source, the fact that the case may have been "cracked" is the result of a mixture of serendipity à la Sherlock Holmes and the state-of-the-art technology used by cyber detectives. In months of painstaking work, a secretly operating special unit of the Lebanese security forces, headed by intelligence expert Captain Wissam Eid, filtered out the numbers of mobile phones that could be pinpointed to the area surrounding Hariri on the days leading up to the attack and on the date of the murder itself. The investigators referred to these mobile phones as the "first circle of hell."
Captain Eid's team eventually identified eight mobile phones, all of which had been purchased on the same day in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. They were activated six weeks before the assassination, and they were used exclusively for communication among their users and -- with the exception of one case -- were no longer used after the attack. They were apparently tools of the hit team that carried out the terrorist attack.
But there was also a "second circle of hell," a network of about 20 mobile phones that were identified as being in proximity to the first eight phones noticeably often. According to the Lebanese security forces, all of the numbers involved apparently belong to the "operational arm" of Hezbollah, which maintains a militia in Lebanon that is more powerful than the regular Lebanese army. While part of the Party of God acts like a normal political organization, participating in democratic elections and appointing cabinet ministers, the other part uses less savory tactics, such as abductions near the Israeli border and terrorist attacks, such those committed against Jewish facilities in South America in 2002 and 2004.
The whereabouts of the two Beirut groups of mobile phone users coincided again and again, and they were sometimes located near the site of the attack. The romantic attachment of one of the terrorists led the cyber-detectives directly to one of the main suspects. He committed the unbelievable indiscretion of calling his girlfriend from one of the "hot" phones. It only happened once, but it was enough to identify the man. He is believed to be Abd al-Majid Ghamlush, from the town of Rumin, a Hezbollah member who had completed training course in Iran. Ghamlush was also identified as the buyer of the mobile phones. He has since disappeared, and perhaps is no longer alive.
Revelations Will Likely Harm Hezbollah
Ghamlush's recklessness led investigators to the man they now suspect was the mastermind of the terrorist attack: Hajj Salim, 45. A southern Lebanese from Nabatiyah, Salim is considered to be the commander of the "military" wing of Hezbollah and lives in South Beirut, a Shiite stronghold. Salim's secret "Special Operational Unit" reports directly to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, 48.
Imad Mughniyah, one of the world's most wanted terrorists, ran the unit until Feb. 12, 2008, when he was killed in an attack in Damascus, presumably by Israeli intelligence. Since then, Salim has largely assumed the duties of his notorious predecessor, with Mughniyah's brother-in-law, Mustafa Badr al-Din, serving as his deputy. The two men report only to their superior, and to General Kassim Sulaimani, their contact in Tehran. The Iranians, the principal financiers of the military Lebanese "Party of God," have repressed the Syrians' influence.
The deeper the investigators in Beirut penetrated into the case, the clearer the picture became, according to the SPIEGEL source. They have apparently discovered which Hezbollah member obtained the small Mitsubishi truck used in the attack. They have also been able to trace the origins of the explosives, more than 1,000 kilograms of TNT, C4 and hexogen.
The Lebanese chief investigator and true hero of the story didn't live to witness many of the recent successes in the investigation. Captain Eid, 31, was killed in a terrorist attack in the Beirut suburb of Hazmiyah on Jan. 25, 2008. The attack, in which three other people were also killed, was apparently intended to slow down the investigation. And, once again, there was evidence of involvement by the Hezbollah commando unit, just as there has been in each of more than a dozen attacks against prominent Lebanese in the last four years.
This leaves the question of motive unanswered. Many had an interest in Hariri's death. Why should Hezbollah -- or its backers in Iran -- be responsible?
Hariri's growing popularity could have been a thorn in the side of Lebanese Shiite leader Nasrallah. In 2005, the billionaire began to outstrip the revolutionary leader in terms of popularity. Besides, he stood for everything the fanatical and spartan Hezbollah leader hated: close ties to the West and a prominent position among moderate Arab heads of state, an opulent lifestyle, and membership in the competing Sunni faith. Hariri was, in a sense, the alternative to Nasrallah.
Whether Lebanon has developed in the direction the Hezbollah leader apparently imagined seems doubtful. Immediately after the spectacular terrorist attack on Valentine's Day in 2005, a wave of sympathy for the murdered politician swept across the country. The so-called "cedar revolution" brought a pro-Western government to power, and the son of the murdered man emerged as the most important party leader and strongest figure operating in the background. Saad al-Hariri, 39, could have become prime minister of Lebanon long ago -- if he were willing to accept the risks and felt sufficiently qualified to hold office. After the Hariri murder, the Syrian occupation force left the country in response to international and domestic Lebanese pressure.
But not everything has gone wrong from Hezbollah's standpoint. In July 2006, Nasrallah, by kidnapping Israeli soldiers, provoked Israel to launch a war against Lebanon. Hezbollah defied the superior military power, solidifying its image as a resistance movement in large parts of the Arab world. If there were democratic opinion polls in the Middle East, Nasrallah would probably be voted the most popular leader. The highly anticipated June 7 elections will demonstrate whether the Lebanese will allow Nasrallah to radicalize them again. Once again, he is entering into the election campaign in a dual role. He is both the secretary-general of the "Party of God," represented in the parliament since 1992, and the head of Hezbollah's militia, part of a state within a state that makes its own laws.
Hezbollah currently holds 14 of 128 seats in parliament, a number that is expected to rise. Some even believe that dramatic gains are possible for Hezbollah, although landslide-like changes in the Lebanese parliamentary system are relatively unlikely. A system of religious proportionality ensures, with list alliances arranged in advance, that about two-thirds of the seats in parliament are assigned before an election. In the cedar state, a Sunni must always be prime minister, while the Shiites are entitled to the office of speaker of parliament and the Christians the relatively unimportant office of the president.
Hezbollah has not managed to upset this system, adopted decades ago, even though it objectively puts its clientele at a disadvantage. As a result of differences in birthrates, there are now far more Shiites than Sunnis or Christians in Lebanon. Some say that Nasrallah isn't even interested in securing power through elections, and that the "Party of God" would be satisfied with a modest share of the government. By not taking on too much government responsibility, Hezbollah would not be forced to dissolve its militias and make significant changes to its ideology of resistance.
The revelations about the alleged orchestrators of the Hariri murder will likely harm Hezbollah. Large segments of the population are weary of internal conflicts and are anxious for reconciliation. The leader of the movement, which, despite its formal recognition of the democratic rules of the game, remains on the US's list of terrorist organizations, probably anticipates forthcoming problems with the UN tribunal. In a speech in Beirut, Nasrallah spoke of the tribunal's "conspiratorial intentions."
The revelations are likely to be just as unwelcome in Tehran, which sees itself confronted, once again, with the charge of exporting terrorism. Damascus's view of the situation could be more mixed. Although the Syrian government is not being declared free of the suspicion of involvement, at least President Assad is no longer in the line of fire. Hardly anything suggests anymore that he was personally aware of the murder plot or even ordered the killing.
One can only speculate over the reasons why the Hariri tribunal is holding back its new information about the assassination. Perhaps the investigators in the Netherlands fear that it could stir up the situation in Lebanon. On Friday evening, the press office in Leidschendam responded tersely to a written inquiry from SPIEGEL, noting that it could not comment on "operational details."
Detlev Mehlis, 60, the German senior prosecutor and former UN chief investigator, has his own set of concerns. He performed his investigation to the best of his knowledge and belief, questioning more than 500 witnesses, and now he must put up with the accusation of having focused his attention too heavily on Syrian leads. The UN tribunal's order to release the generals who were arrested at his specific request is, at any rate, a serious blow to the German prosecutor.
One of the four, Jamal al-Sayyid, the former head of Lebanese intelligence, has even filed a suit against Mehlis in France for "manipulated investigations." In media interviews, such as an interview with the Al-Jazeera Arab television network last week, Sayyid has even taken his allegations a step further, accusing German police commissioner Gerhard Lehmann, Mehlis's assistant in the Beirut investigations, of blackmail.
Sayyid claims that Lehmann, a member of Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) proposed a deal with the Syrian president to the Lebanese man. Under the alleged arrangement, Assad would identify the person responsible for the Hariri killing and convince him to commit suicide, and then the case would be closed. According to Sayyid, the authorities in Beirut made "unethical proposals, as well as threats," and he claims that he has recordings of the incriminating conversations.
Mehlis denies all accusations. Lehmann, now working on a new assignment in Saudi Arabia, was unavailable for comment. But the spotlight-loving Jamil al-Sayyid could soon be embarking on a new career. He is under consideration for the post of Lebanon's next justice minister.
Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan.
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