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
Saturday, June 20, 2009
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.”
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