This is a very good article on the Al-Qaeda presence in Lebanon ..
Suggested by Reine

Pete Ajamian
Recent terrorist attacks targeting the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and U.S. embassy personnel in Beirut come as security measures are heightened in response to a series of assassinations and a rapidly deteriorating political crisis in the country. While UNIFIL forces have been targeted previously since their deployment under UN Security Council Resolution 1701 in 2006, the attempt to hit U.S. embassy personnel is the first attack on U.S. interests in 23 years. The targeting of foreign entities in Lebanon presents additional challenges for a country already facing a litany of threats to its own security.

Although no one has yet claimed responsibility for either bombing, media statements issued by al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda-inspired entities prior to these attacks suggest that these groups have been looking to undertake such action against foreign interests in Lebanon for some time. The wounding of Irish members of UNIFIL by a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) came less than two weeks after Osama Bin Laden issued an online audio statement condemning the international peacekeeping force in Lebanon. Another recent online statement by an individual claiming to be Shaker al-Abbasi, the leader of Fatah al-Islam, renewed threats against the Lebanese Army (LA) and derided its leader and presidential compromise candidate, General Michel Suleiman for allegedly having political dealings with the United States (The Daily Star, January 9, 12; Reuters, January 7).

Full Article

Proposed by DAN who will join us soon as a writer on the blog.

I never expected that I would need to write a post like this. But today’s time is not a time of silence anymore.

25 years ago, a 34 year old man made it clear to everyone: Even if the whole world supported a presidential candidate for Lebanon, if we Lebanese don’t accept him, he won’t be president. He said that over and over again, and made sure that the whole world gets the message.

This man was Martyr Bashir Gemayyel. Lebanon’s youngest President ever, who was elected in the middle of the civil war. A President who’s words still echo in my mind every now and then, and have been screaming in my mind every hour and minute of the political turmoil we’re living in this country these days.

Where do those words of Bashir stand today? Our Presidential elections have brought the whole world into our own backyard.

Countries from different continents and regions are speeding to name Lebanon’s President…based on “interests of super powers”. And whenever our impotent politians dare to name a President, they need to pass his name over to the world club in order to get its approval. It’s simple. All what is needed is the approval of the U.S, Iran, France, Pakistan, Malta, Mozambique, Cambodia, Seashells, Vanuatu, Ougu Dugu Islands, Tizi Ouzo tribes, the Eskimos, Laos, Uganda and a lot more that I can’t remember.

Yes, our President needs to be screened before starting his job. Even if the entire population wanted him, we’d have to wait for the entire world’s approval.

For the past 3 years, I’ve been watching the news and seeing embassadors, foreign delegates and representatives getting themselves a seat in our political process more than anytime before. Just last month, 328472394824876 foreign ministers from

I don’t know how many countries paid us a visit of “support” because they were “concerned” that we elect our President “within consensus” and “free of problems”.

And what are our politicians doing? Playing around like babies do in their Nursery class: attacking, counter-attacking, blaming, accusing, showing powers, crying, buying, selling, betting, gambling and everything else except protecting their own country from foreign interests, especially at times like these.

In a nutshell: Our days today desperately need a man like Bashir. The person has passed away, but his words are alive and strong. But how are we carrying them along? How are we voicing them out? How are we reminding everyone, including our own political amateurs, that “the President should be LEBANESE before being anything else?” How are we reminding the whole world that our president should be “Loyal to this country without any other?”

What are we doing, as Bashirists at most, and as concerned citizens at least, to sound our digust from what’s going on? To protect our own republic from becoming once again an international stage for a show of powers?? It’s sad to say that in the middle of this big chaos and humiliation we’re living in, which violates every single principle Bashir called for, Bashir’s supporters remain silent! Where is everyone??

Youmna Bashir Gemayyel, where are you?
Nadim, waynak??
Solange, our First Lady, you’re a Member of Parliament at least, where are your words going????
How are you using your position to voice out Bashir’s words??

WHERE IS BASHIR’S VOICE AT A TIME LIKE THIS!?!?

(more…)

An illustrated version of my previous post ( Thank you J).

I’m planning to have a picnic with my family this coming week end. I thought I might the following accessories for this purpose:

1.Mine :

And Here’s how i should look :

2-My wife’s accessories

3-My little girls’ needs:

My little girl should look like this:

4-Our transportation:

5-And finally, 2 family pictures

Posted by Tareq73, your contribution is much appreciated.

Video to watch.

In the 1980s Lebanon used to be in the world news in America and Europe only when there were bombs or airplane hijackings or assassinations… and when you said to Americans or Europeans that you are Lebanese they always asked about the war… it was sooooo annoying to always have to explain that Lebanon was a great country before the war and we don’t all want violence and killing… it sucked so much to see how bad our image was in the world and when this started to change in the 1990’s (at least a little bit) it felt so different and so good that foreigners had good things to say about Lebanon, some of them were starting to go there on vacation and they would talk about the food and how much fun they had and how beautiful it is… naturally this is good for tourism and business but also psychologically for the millions of Lebanese outside Lebanon you have something to be proud of, it even affects your friendship with people when they think you come from a good place they respect you more and they treat you better (it’s human nature)!

Well all this changed again with the war of July 2006 that Hezbollah launched as we all know… and after all the killing and the destruction that stopped in August 2006, the image of Lebanon is again in the gutter, look at this video and see for yourself… It’s only one small example, it is a TV advertisement by AT&T for cellular phone service and they mention 4 cities that are infamous (that Americans consider weird or see them in a bad way), the first one is Beirut!!! they associate it with war and craziness and killing, then Los Angeles (crime and gangs) and Moscow (frozen in the old days of the Soviets) and Roswell New Mexico (where all the weirdos think a UFO crashed and some aliens were found!!)… the commercial is saying that AT&T is the best cellular phone company because you can get cellular phone service even in these weird backward crazy places!!!

This is an example that you don’t always see of what the war of Hezbollah has done to Lebanon’s image in the world for many years in the future… and why did they do this? to free 2 prisoners that they don’t talk about anymore, one of them is a criminal and the other one is a ghost that Israel denies he exists.

So I just want to say thank you Sayyed Hassan for this wonderful achievement, you have made the lives of millions of Lebanese outside Lebanon so much better, I am so glad I went back to Lebanon so I don’t have to see and hear the reaction of foreigners when I tell them I am from Lebanon, I feel sorry for the millions of Lebanese outside who have to explain again over and over why they are not all crazy religious wackos who dream of blowing themselves up.

It looks Aounists ( or Morada or whomever came up with that game) were infected by the Hezbollah syndrom of hiding and running away when facing their ennemies or opponents.

Whats the new story ?? A 8th of March supporter came up with a video game about storming Sanioura’s government compound and killing him and all the ministers. The battle of the Sarai - The final battle was the name of the final mission.

Name of the guy: Ziad el Hajj ( As per Assafir article )

لكن، من هو مصمم اللعبة وما هي دوافعه؟ الأمر لا يبدو عصياً على الفهم. فزياد الحاج هو مصمم اللعبة (الإسم مستعار طبعاً) وهو صاحب مدونة:

He runs a blog called 14march.blogspot.com , of course i checked it and he had already deleted all the links and posts he had there and went to hide with 7assouna in the basement along with the rats.

He had uploaded several youtube videos but they were also removed.
Just google 14march.blogspot.com and you will find links to youtube videos but they show as removed when you try to watch them.
Here is a print screen :

It seems Mr.Guts shit his pants when he heard he was being sued, given the fact that he was quoted saying the following
“Hajj was quoted as saying he designed the game to “express the wishes of many Lebanese” in storming the government compound. “I gave them what they want.” “

Yep he gave them what THEY WANTED, this says a lot about the intentions of this PEACEFUL & CIVILIZED opposition invading Down Town with their tents. Should we be scared though ?? Iza kelloun mitil li 3emil hal le3be, there is nothing to worry about then

The game, according to as-Safir is made up of three chapters, the first centers on killing all the “militias” that guard the compound, in reference to the regular forces.

Attackers also fight a battle with “militiamen” in the lobby who are allegedly supervised by Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and al-Moustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri, as well as Saniora himself.

The last and third chapter of the “game” involves the storming of the main hall where Saniora is presiding over a meeting of his cabinet and the killing of “all the traitors and thieves,” in reference to the premiere and his ministers.

The game ends with the phrase: “Game over, congratulations” when the player succeeds in
“liquidating” all those in the government compound, the report noted.

Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza on Thursday ordered police to launch an investigation into a video game about the storming of Premier Fouad Saniora’s government compound and the killing of all the ministers.

General Aoun. Saying his name alone invokes emotional trips ranging from adoration and respect to intense hatred and disgust. I hate to say it (well… no, not really), but I swing more toward the latter side of the spectrum. And who do I happen to be? Why, it’s that crazy Cousin from America, back again to fill your precious heads with opinions more valuable than your own.

Let me just say this first and foremost: I am not a history buff (as if you couldn’t tell), so don’t expect me to give a shit about tiny little details from 30 years ago. That was then, but this is now. Quit living in the past and using it as an excuse to justify your lame political posturing.

Ahem.

On with the show. Really, I’m here to explain to you why I just don’t like Aoun. In reality, I don’t give much of a crap about anyone in Lebanese politics. They’re all running jokes of themselves, but some are worse than others. There’s Aoun, Geagea, Jumblat, Frangiyeh (but this asswipe hardly counts), Gemayel, and probably Hariri, too. But we’re here to talk about Aoun.

1. Political Stances
Who does Aoun throw his support behind? Really, he just says to any given oppressed minority group on any given day, “You people deserve a representative in the government, because I won’t stand for anyone mistreating you any longer!” He kisses their asses. He gains their trust through sucking up, and who are they to say no?

When he’s not giving false support to random groups he doesn’t really care about (I think it’s more to make his opponents look bad than anything else), he sides with the enemy. I know we’ve been over this, but once again: he supports Hezbollah as a group of Lebanese citizens, even though Hezbollah get their arms from our two greatest enemies (no, not the US and Israel, you damn whiners), Syria and Iran. Look, I don’t even care if he doesn’t support Syria or he says he doesn’t support Syria (weren’t they the ones that banished him in the first place?), but the fact that he can throw his weight behind a group that gets their arms from them says a lot. And as well all know, there are few major Middle Eastern countries that don’t annoyingly dedicate their existence to taking down “the Zionist threat.”

2. Class

Aoun is a man who has absolutely zero class. I’m not referring to the Caste System of the old days. I’m talking about his presence and demeanor in public. Before he goes into press conferences, the idiot puts his hands up in that completely retarded “double check mark” thing that he does. What idiot does that and thinks he looks cool? The only person who can get away with that sort of thing is Richard Nixon, and that’s only because he did it in a country where giving a double peace sign essentially meant giving everyone the finger. If you’re not going to be classy, then go all the way like Nixon instead of looking like a regular idiot and waving your check-marked fingers around.

Stupid hand gestures aside, he also has no class because of how he reacts in interviews. For God’s sake, the man flips out into a screaming match over any simple question. He starts pissing and moaning about nothing in particular, disrespecting both the person who asked the question and the audience. Hey Aoun, only Janet Reno can get away with that sort of thing, and as much as I don’t like her, she at least made some decent points every now and then. You’re just a bitter old man who got screwed over in the past, yet feels like taking it out on us, the public. Kindly knock it off. If Geagea, who suffered way more than you when the banishments came, can stand tall and speak eloquently, then so can you. Grow up.

3. Sloganeering

I’ve already touched on the idiocy of making a double check mark, so there’s not much else to say. I mean, you look like an idiot. The subject is closed.

Lebanese politicians these days have an annoying tendency to pick colors to represent themselves, yet none are as prevalent as Aoun is with his goddamn orange bile covering the entirety of anything talking about him. Seriously, man, calm the hell down. Orange is not a pleasant color, unless it’s burnt orange. You just have plain orange, which just gets annoying to look at after the first 50 times. Can’t we listen to you complain without having a background that looks like somebody threw up a liter of Miranda all over it? If you use a color and a cute little hand gesture to define who you are, then you deserve to be made fun of.

If that weren’t bad enough, you have retailers making things with their own special brand of Aounie goodness: orange everywhere! Orange towels for the Aounie who likes to go swimming. Orange food containers for the Aounie who likes to keep his oranges fresh. One amusing product I saw was a Cascade water bottle with orange trim surrounding it. Cascade, here in America, is a dish-washing liquid. Considering one Cascade is supposed to be pure and refreshing and the other is used to clean dirt and grime, I don’t see the attachment to Aoun. When a man picked it off the ground and threw it away, my cousin (your very own N10452) said, “Ah, right where it belongs.”

4. The Fans

Aoun does not have supporters, he has fans. And these people are among the most annoying human beings you’ll ever meet. Their loyalty to Aoun is so glaringly misplaced, too. Listen to them tell stories about Aoun, and he appears to be nothing short of a god. The embellishments are so obvious that I can’t wait for a “Super Aoun” comic book to come out. “And then, Aoun swooped down just in time to rescue the children from the evil Geagea’s wrath! The day was saved, once again, thanks to Super Aoun!” Seriously, his fanclub has some of the most unbelievable biases I’ve ever heard in my life.

Not only do they believe in their beloved general no matter what, but they don’t really listen to logic all that much. I can’t remember how many times I’ve used the “Aoun -> Hezbollah -> Syria and Iran” thing, yet they still try to reason with it. There is no reasoning, and I’m not just saying that because I’m naturally always right. I’m saying that because even a brain-damaged 8-year-old will be able to say, “Yeah, this doesn’t make all that much sense.” To have such a blind loyalty to one cause without seeing any of the faults that are scattered like so many Aoun posters on the streets of an Ouwet village is to just be willfully ignorant. I don’t think I have met one non-radical Aounie. In fact, I hope he wins the presidency one day, just so he can ruin the country even more. His fans will wake up and say, “Jesus Christ, this guy really does suck! What were we thinking?” And remember, they’re fans, not supporters.

Well, I think that about covers it for today. I didn’t go terribly in-depth, but I figured that going too political would just make this damn thing 10 pages long. I think I managed to hit the major points with some small examples for each one, so hopefully you finished reading this with a smile on your face and a song in your heart. So, until the next time I’m asked to write something, this is Cousin, signing out.

This was posted today by a member on the LF forum, an impressive and touching story.

A Heart Of A Soldier…A Heart Of A Nation

No, it’s not a movie scene from an “Oliver Stone’s” script.

Abi Samra, Tripoli

Phone ringing.
Little after 4:00 am,
Ramzi’s brother.
Didn’t bother to pick it up.
Bad!
Hurried up, put my clothes on.
Returned the phone call.
Is it Ramzi?!
Yes.
Where at?!
Abi Samra.
How bad?!
Serious.
Where is he?!
SH. Hospital, meet me there.
Got there, hospital filled with military personnel.
Made my way to the intensive care.
Same scene in the hallway. Filled with People in Army fatigue, from all ranks, and all Religions and sects. Some bewildered, some walking in daze, some scratching their heads, some in rage, a soldier sitting on the floor by the door weeping like a child (will return to this guy shortly)
An intern, begging all to stop requesting to give blood, as they’ve received more than enough.
Ramzi’s mother standing motionlessly and pale by the door too. Didn’t say a word to her…just hugged her.

The mayhem goes as follows,
Little after dark on Saturday, one of those filthy “Carbon Unit” is apprehended. After interrogation, he confessed to being a member of a cell of 4. Gave the location to the remainder terrorists.
Ramzi was instructed to go and apprehend the rest.
Unaware of an ambush in the making ahead already, Ramzi proceeded to the location accompanied by 2 of his soldier in a jeep, while the rest of the platoon was preparing itself to follow suit.
Soon as he arrived and all stepped out of their jeep, they were met with a storm of high caliber explosive bullets raining in on them from all sides.
One of his soldiers was gunned down immediately, while R was hit in the back with a high caliber explosive bullet, without having the chance to load his gun even.
Fell on the ground, leaving the one and only remaining soldier to cover.
Knowing that one of his comrades was already dead, that soldier jumped on his Captain laying on the floor and covered him with his own body, while returning fire as fast as he could and in all directions.
Ramzi, and still conscious, ordered his remaining officer to retreat, seek shelter, and wait until the rest of the platoon arrives, as it was not necessary for him to die.
That Sunni soldier adamantly replied that he will NOT abandon his Captain (who happens to be a Maronite) and kept on firing while laying on top of him.
Knowing that his orders will be in vain, Ramzi then instructed that soldier to load his own pistol for him, as his gun was ejected far after he was hit.
While bleeding profusely and firing his pistol in one direction, his companion was shooting in another direction, with both trying feverishly to cover the front and back.
By then the rest of the platoon arrived.
Witnessing the magnitude of the firefight, they quickly stepped out and took position and start firing.
Realizing that their Captain, along with one of their companions were gunned down, and with pure adrenaline, 2 of the officers charged in a somewhat suicidal attempt to rescue their Captain and fallen comrade. The 2 were hit immediately (1 of them was a Shi3a.)
Then, all hell broke loose, and the remainder of the platoon split in 2, with one charging the terrorists hiding in the bushes, while the other half towards the building hiding the other terrorists.
Then, that Sunni soldier, with the aid of a Lieutenant Colonel who happened to be a doctor, helped drag Ramzi to safety, to be rushed soon after by helicopter for medical treatment.

That soldier weeping on the floor was that one and only Sunni soldier.
He was weeping for failing to shelter his Captain from harm’s way.

After hearing his story, my mouth was so dry, I couldn’t even swallow.

I looked again towards those officers around me, all of them, from all ranks, all religions and sects, but with all sharing that same wounded and hemorrhaging heart, bleeding, but still beating strong for the sake of me.

Article written by my American cousin.

Well, it’s that time of year again, folks. What time, you ask? Why, time to blow the shit out of Lebanon, of course! It’s Asshole Cousin here again (as I’ve come to go by, apparently), ready to bestow upon the Arab world his (not so) humble opinions about yet another shitty situation.

I originally felt saddened at the prospect of having more shit to deal with just as the country seemed to be getting back on its feet. Then this comes. And right before summer begins, no less. They’re starting earlier this year, I guess. Add in a few more political assassinations and the bad guys will win. But who exactly are the bad guys? It’s so hard to tell these days, as every single psychotic Muslim group seems to get off on taking their problems and irrational issues into Lebanon.

As far as I can tell, this time the enemy is a group of militant Muslims whose members consist of people from the entire Arab world. As reported, they were released through the Syrian border, ready to wreak havoc on whatever they could get their hands on. But my question is: why?

From what I can gather, Lebanon is still an easy target for religious extremists to take over and manipulate. And honestly, who can blame them? I mean, this is a country whose leaders are completely incompetent and monumentally selfish fools. Even in times like this, the political leaders in Lebanon are more concerned with what gets them the most support and/or money. The way I see it, the problem stems from not keeping friends at all, and not keeping enemies close in the least.

Look whose ass the politicians are trying to kiss. With Aoun throwing his support behind Hezbollah (which, as I’ve explained before, in turn supports Syria and Iran) and the other “Christian” leaders (Geagea anyone?) not doing a damn thing, I think we’re bringing these problems on ourselves. For God’s sake, we’re supporting these leaders.

So let’s take a look at the major players. We have Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and a few other Arab countries (I’d include Palestine, but we all know that would be hard to do.). I like to think the main three are the most prominent, though. As it stands right now, Lebanon is considered (and justifiably so) a weak, manipulated country. Our leaders do what they want for their own damn benefit, and we don’t stand up for ourselves. In the face of adversity, we cower and hide, choosing to play peace-keepers instead of standing up to those pricks. Lebanon is still under the process of being turned into a Muslim Republic.

Now, this is not a bash against Muslims, simply the extremists. From what I gather, there are no Christian extremists, just Christian morons. I guess what I don’t understand is why we have to be involved. If the psycho-Muslims want to destroy the Zionist power, fine. Do that. But do it out of our freaking country. They have such a large hatred against the Israelis that they decide to move their whiney little issues into Lebanon. It’s like two kids fighting over a toy!

If Lebanon wants support, then it really needs to figure out where to get it from. If our leaders really wanted to stop the fighting, I believe they should plead for help from powerful countries. Yes, I am mainly referring to the US. Now, before you get all up in arms about my little strategy, hear me out. I know that the US only wants what’s good for the US. And who can blame them? What country wants to get involved where they have nothing to gain? There is no “being the good guy” in any situation if nothing is gained. Why risk the lives of innocent men for a cause that doesn’t do anything for them? It makes sense to me that if Prime Minister Saniora asks for help from the US, then something might be done quicker. In fact, I heard President Bush speaking on the very issue and defending Lebanon. That led me to believe that the US has something to gain, but let’s take it with a grain of salt and just be thankful that we have a World Power speaking up for us, okay? After all, Lebanon’s Christians aren’t as gung-ho about destroying Israel as the Arab world’s Muslims. Sure, we hate them, but who don’t we hate at this point? As a Middle Eastern country, we reserve the right to hate every one of our neighbors. I know I do.

We have bitter Palestinians residing in our country who want to take out Israel, but we can’t forget that both groups took their own freakin war into our country in the beginning. With the US kissing Israel’s ass and Israel being so freakin greedy with the land they took from the Palestinians, there is no one area to place the blame. I think if Israel just sucks up some of their pride and gives back the land they took (even if a little), then their shitty war can be kept out of our country. Think about it: Lebanon itself (a predominantly Christian country, though it rarely shows) is involved in a fight against most of the Muslim world for dominance of its own damn country. My take is that the easier-said-than-done solution would be to rid Lebanon of its extremist Muslim occupation with help from the major players. From the looks of it, the US getting involved will be a lot of fun to watch.

I’m not saying to magically become Israel’s friend. Please, let’s be real here. I don’t even want to be Israel’s friend. But with enough of the right connections on our side, we may have a shot at peace. With the US and Israel aware of Lebanon’s disapproval with the psycho-Muslims, I think a change can be made. After all, keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? Regardless of your thoughts on the US and Israel, it can be said that they have more than enough power. Sadly, our leaders are morons. They won’t stop their shitty policies until Lebanon is totally destroyed. Maybe they’ll wake up once they find out what the rest of us already know: their “allies” have no qualms about betraying them at any given point in time. And by God, I hope they get betrayed.

So let’s recap, eh? Our enemy at the moment is another large group of Muslim extremists who want to destroy Lebanon’s (already weak) defenses and turn it into a Muslim Republic (Presumably, anyway; I can never tell just what the fuck is wrong with most of our enemies, let alone what they want.). Lebanon itself doesn’t want to do much beyond siding with inept politicians who will never work for the country as a whole. We support all the wrong people, choosing instead to buy into the whole “Down with US/Israel!” mentality. The big picture, quite honestly, is that Lebanon is fighting constant battles that should have nothing to do with it.

Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world are fighting against Israel, Lebanon has groups of these extremists residing in its territory, and Lebanon’s (Christian?) leaders are too freakin proud to unite under one solution. Same as it’s always been. I think the only good things out of this situation are that we see just how great the Lebanese army is. Seriously, they’ve been doing an excellent job trying to keep peace. The other thing is that maybe, just maybe, the politicians will finally wake up from their own greed-induced stupor to realize what’s going on.

It’s something I hope for a lot, but it seems will never be a reality. Oh, well. Give it a few months and it’ll go away. Then, a few months after that, something else will happen. And by God, I’ll be here to write about that, too.