Monthly Archives: June 2007

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Who Would Head A Second Government?

This is a rhetorical question, but we’re all allowed to guess aren’t we? Assiyasa Did.



Assiyasa is not the most credible newspaper. In fact, it is notorious for getting things wrong on Lebanon. But it had the occasional prescient hit.

Now that Mr. Abdel Rahim Mourad, a rare Lebanese politician who admitted he was upset when the Syrian forces withdrew from Lebanon, can’t fill the post because of the American Ban, why not give the honor to one of the most loyal Syrian allies?

Who gives a damn about the Taef agreement anyway. If Assad says the PM should be Maronite, why not? It would be fun to divide and conquer..

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A Sweeping Ban

President Bush’s latest travel ban is so far-reaching even the many FPM supporters in the USA could be in danger.

ABR just pointed out President Bush’s Latest travel ban. And frankly, it can be scary even to legit Lebanese opposition. Check this out:

In order to foster democratic institutions in Lebanon, to help the Lebanese people preserve their sovereignty and achieve their aspirations for democracy and regional stability, and to end the sponsorship of terrorism in Lebanon, it is in the interest of the United States to restrict the international travel, and to suspend the entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of aliens who deliberately undermine or harm Lebanon’s sovereignty, its legitimate government, or its democratic institutions, contribute to the breakdown in the rule of law in Lebanon, or benefit from policies or actions that do so

So in other words, if another “black tuesday” were to happen tomorrow, where Aoun declares the government illegitimate and FPM supporters block the roads and “contribute to the breakdown in the rule of law”, George Bush’s text would apply to the FPM.

Is this a good thing?

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So What Really Happened In The Beddawi Camp Today?

There are now two versions of the Beddawi camp violence: The official Lebanese Army version, and the “Eyewitness version“

First, with the “eyewitness” version (where is Youtube when you need it?):

A peaceful protest began within the Badawi Palestinian Refugee Camp in north Lebanon. The protestors had signs reading “Nahr el Bared is in our soul” and “Nahr el Bared, we won’t forget you.” The protestors were calling for an end to the violence. [..] The protestors did not have clubs. Nobody had clubs. We saw the whole demonstration. They weren’t carrying anything. We went from the beginning to the end of the demonstration. We saw it all, and no one was carrying clubs.“Furthermore, she continued, “the protest was never out of hand. They weren’t throwing stones. At the time the Army opened fire, women were sitting on the ground at the front, and a number of people even had their backs to the soldiers. At the time the Army opened fire, people were getting quieter and had stopped shouting, as if shouting is enough to legitimize open fire.”

Now the Army’s official version:


?????? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ???????? ???????? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ????????? ????????? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ??????.
???? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??? ???????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?? ??? ???????? ????????? ???????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ???????? ????? ??? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????.

Translation (mine)

Today, a group of people began a protest from the Beddawi camp and cut-off the main road using tires and barricades, demanding the return to the Naher Al Bared Camp. The armed forces tried persistently to end this movement peacefully but didn’t receive any cooperation from the protesters who tried to trespass the Military checkpoints without listening to the soldiers’ repeated warnings, or to the warning shots released after the momentum of the demonstrators, who are armed with batons and sharp instruments, became a threat to the security of the Soldiers

This is a free world and I chose to believe the Army. Why on earth would they shoot at people if they don’t feel threatened?

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Tech stuff..

Ok, I know this is a bit off-topic, but since many of you live in the US, is anyone going to buy the Iphone today? anytime soon? I was wondering if anyone knows when the unlocked GSM version will be available for sale..

Also, I just found out about netvibes.com which is apparently the next big thing in an all mash-up  “home-page” that you can use. I really like it! You can add The Beirut Spring as a module simply by copying this feed address and posting it as a new feed.

Try it and tell me what you think..

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A Staged "Intifada" Against The Lebanese Army

Palestinian youths at the Beddawi camp were pushed to attack a Lebanese Army outpost. 3 have died and 40 are wounded as a result..

You can’t argue with a bunch of women and kids who “want to go home”. But when home in this case is a Palestinian camp that is still being shelled for containing terrorists,  and when those “youths” start insulting the soldiers and throwing stones and attacking them, you could conclude that it is much more than impatience to go home that is driving the mobs.

The soldiers reacted firmly, after repeated and clear warnings, to prevent this from turning into a large-scale “intifada”. That was the right move from the Army which should never compromise when it comes to its authority.

The Naher Al Bared residents should understand that the Fateh Al Islam terrorists are a danger to them as much as they are to Lebanon, and they should wait until the job is finished.

The current conditions of the Palestinians who had fled the Naher Al Bared camp are not exemplary and should be improved. But they should also be made to understand that the Army is no pushover, and they can’t just run over it to willingly or unwillingly protect a bunch of terrorists.

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The Goats Who Told On The Terrorists..

If the Deddé cave-dwelling terrorists were vegetarians, they could still be alive today


death with a view

Mohammed had a problem: Not since he started herding goats many years ago in this rocky Deddé hill did anything like this happen to him. It confused him so much he stopped enjoying the morning smell of the olive groves and the stunning view of Tripoli he had (picture)

It started three days ago when his goats started disappearing one by one each day. It couldn’t have been a wild animal, he thought, or It would have left their cadavers behind. The answer only came out this morning after he told the Lebanese Army his predicament.

The Army stormed the caves of the strangers who have been practicing their throat slitting skills on Mohammed’s goats. Those were the same Fateh Al Islam terrorists who backstabbed and slaughtered our soldiers in Qualamoon last month.

Now, they are all dead, in hell, cursing Mohammed’s goats..

(Mohammed is not the herder’s real name. This post was inspired by the real goat herder who told this real story on TV)

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Who Backs P.M. Sanioura ?

The Daily Star makes a good point in Today’s editorial: Why is the international community more supportive of PM Sanioura than his own Lebanese allies?


You’re on your own

The Lebanese daily writes:

As the most high-profile leader of the Lebanese state, Siniora himself has been the focus of much of the international community’s praise [..] The problem is that here in Lebanon, Siniora has not been given the same unequivocal backing. Not only has he had to face a serious challenge to his legitimacy from the opposition, but he has also had to contend with divergent voices within his own alliance, the March 14 Forces. Siniora’s ruling coalition includes a wide assortment of factional leaders whose objectives frequently seem at odds with his own, and indeed often contradictory to the basic principles of democracy. As a result of the mixing of so many contradictory platforms and special interests, the March 14 alliance quite often appears rudderless.

Come to think of it.. That’s true.
In Lebanon, there is no unequivocal support for Mr. Sanioura. It seems Mr. Hariri somehow has it in the back of his head that he could eventually be sacrificed in a future compromise.

Here’s a question: Have you ever seen Saad Hariri come up on TV and say: You mess with Sanioura you mess with me? While the opposition likes to hurl insults at Mr. Seniora all the time, you never hear Hezbollah or Aoun being as venomous with Mr. Hariri himself, do you? Why does Hariri put up with that?

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Inside The Orange Room..

After taking a peak into the FPM’s forum, I came up with two conclusions: 1-They are sane and intelligent people. 2-Some of them are just a tad paranoid.

This post by unitedlb reveals that the FPM are involved in some serious soul searching:(emphasis mine)

I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time now and I think the time is right to let it out.

The truth is that Lebanon is collapsing and all we hear and read about is an unstable phase that is approaching us. We need to do all we can to avoid this. Let’s step outside our political ideology and think about Lebanon and solutions rather than conflict. As an FPMer, I propose our party redirect its efforts by relinquishing our short term goals and concentrating completely on the long term. This will entail a few short term concessions that include:

1. Ceasing our call for a national unity government and remaining in opposition.
2. Opposing any moves aimed at forming two governments or two presidents.
3. Supporting presidential elections on September 25, even if it means conceding the seat to Feb 14.
4. Boycotting the bi-elections if Lahoud doesn’t sign the decree. Give them the seats.[..]

Superduper703 agrees:

This would be the sensible thing to do for the benefit of all the Lebanese. However, I’m pretty sure that the 14March people wouldn’t be opposed to FPM ministers actually joining the new government. They can work from the inside to change mentalities and implement some of their reforms.

The FPM’s paranoid side is however revealed by this comment by the aptly named Venom:

FPM should remain the leader in opposing Hariristan.. ….Nothing called in the middle [exp: there is no such thing as the center]…. in the middle for the next 2 years could lead to the cancelation of Christmas….and Christians and Lebanon as a whole

Gee, so March 14 wants to cancel Christmas? that’s rich.. But I must say, some of these guys are much more mature than their party’s leadership.

Check out the entire thread here

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How The Average Syrian Sees The Relationship With Lebanon

This comment by an Alarabiya reader is offensive on so many levels to Lebanon. It would have been funny if it weren’t a commonly held belief in Syria:

????? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?? ??????? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ?? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ????? ???????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ????? ……. ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ????

Translation (Mine)

Lebanon is like a disobeying daughter to her mother Syria who raised her and cared for her when she was young. But when she became an adult, Lebanon backstabbed her mother.
Who now is going to protect her? She being a vulnerable woman who’s desired by everyone. If only she would go back to her mother who will defend her before she becomes a territory that the envious would trespass to settle scores.. But the mother keeps her head high as long as she has an obeying son and a home she can go back to

Warning: Please don’t vomit on your keyboard.

Also, Who do you think the obeying son is?