14 March 2005 was a memorable day that i will never forget, it was that golden opportunity ( as Gebran Tueni once said) that we should not miss.

Yet we missed it big time, got back the politicians that ruined us in the past and here we are now, about to bring back the Syrians into Lebanon, and IRONICALLY through another Army General.

I always was straight forward when it came to politics, i had my LF thought and carried it with me, and critisized whomever drifted from that thinking, even if it was Samir Geagea .. Truth is the only thing that frees us, that keeps us on the good track ..

Do i regret the things i did ? Never.

But i blame myself, and a large group of Lebanese youth for not doing anything to stop this disaster .. We are sitting back and watching the Cedars Revolution representatives sell out the country to another Pro-Syrian president.

I wanted to go demonstrate by myself today, against voting for Suleiman, against postponing elections every week … but what for ??

To get arrested and humiliated ?? Kermel meen ??

I never did anything to satisfy other people, but for my own conviction, but one must be rational from time to time and think twice ..

I hear people still quoting Geagea here and Aoun there, and actually being serious about it, i do get involved in those arguments but not to defend Geagea or Aoun or anyone but rather try to convince the Aounist ( or Lfer or whatever) attacking me that he is defending the wrong person but most of the time in vain .. they are too stubborn to understand the solution lies within their hands …

You ask me why dont i do anything about it ? I tell you if i had the money i would, because this is what politics is all about here, you need to have money, contacts & muscles ..

What makes the difference is whether you are an honest credible person or not … and those are becoming extinct.

The situation is sickening and i wonder sometimes if i were outside Lebanon, how tempting it would be to just erase everything related to Lebanon .. because i am ashamed of the fact that i cant cause any change .. because i am ashamed to even tell people what Lebanon has become .. and most importantly how its Christians never learned and will never learn ..

Le patriarche Aoun

De grâce n’encombrez pas le chemin du palais présidentiel de Rabieh. Soyez civilisés et conformez-vous aux rendez-vous qui vous ont été accordés, sinon son excellence ne vous recevra pas.

Faites la queue, attendez votre tour, ne dépassez pas, ne devancez personne. Il n’y a pas de ligne militaire sur ce chemin, vous êtes tous soldats au service de son excellence, ou au moins, c’est ce qu’il vous considère.

Respectez l’emploi du temps : Lundi, mardi et mercredi de 10 :00 à 13 :00 et de 14 :00 à 16 :00. Son excellence vous accordera 5 minutes à chacun seulement.

Le rassemblement risquera de congestionner la voie au palais, l’horaire du général est très surchargé et sa patience est étroite. Alors patientez.

Ne soyez pas bouseux, ne venez pas entre 13 :00 et 14 :00. Le général aime savourer son déjeuner et se reposer après. Sa sieste est sacrée. S’il s’endort, il rêvera, et s’il réalise ses rêves il vous privera de vos sommeils, et que Dieu vous protège.

L’approche du général est très positive. Il s’est servi de son vocabulaire courtois, il n’a pas recouru, comme dans son initiative de secours, au langage des épigrammes militaires.

Il ne vous a pas limité sa disponibilité à 3 heures par jour seulement.

Remerciez Dieu parce qu’il vous a invités à concerter. Mais n’ayez pas l’illusion que les consultations engageront son excellence. Les concertations constitutionnelles obligeantes sont très prématurées à ce stade. Il n’est pas encore président. Tout ce qu’il veut maintenant, c’est jouer le rôle mais sans s’engager aux résultats. N’a-t-il pas le droit de jouer ?

Mais attention ! Vous êtes tous avertis : si les représentants de la majorité ne participeront pas aux convois qui embouteilleront la voie à sa résidence présidentielle de Rabieh, il ne considèrera que le point de vue des opposants qui vont emprunter cette voie massivement pour lui prêter allégeance, lui déclarer obéissance et acclamer sa sagesse, sa perspicacité et son ouverture à toutes les composantes du commun du peuple.

Le général n’a nullement promis de considérer les points de vue des loyalistes au cas où ils se présenteront. Alors vous êtes tous priés de ne pas mal interpréter les propos du général. Dans la langue de bois, la négation d’une négation n‘est pas nécessairement une affirmation. Cela n’est vrai qu’en Algèbre : proprement appelé aussi : La science des ânes.

Les américains, européens et arabes sont tous venus le concerter, personne n’a pu le convaincre, pourquoi se faire convaincre maintenant ?

Le général est un homme militaire et il ne fera que ce qu’il a en tête. Si cela vous déplait, vous pourrez cogner vos têtes contre le mur.

Les résultats des consultations ont déjà été publiés dans l’invitation même : « Le gouvernement est inconstitutionnel et illégal, Il a pris la charge de gouvernance en violant les coutumes, la constitution et l’entente nationale, en enfreignant l’expérience de la cohabitation multicommunautaire et en compromettant  le pacte national et le droit constitutionnel ». Croyez-vous vraiment que le général vous consulte pour vous demander conseil ou même vous écouter ?

Tout ce que le général veut, c’est devenir président, même pour trois jours et à deux horaires, l’avant midi et l’après midi, Il veut remplir le vide constitutionnel avec des invitations futiles qui feront de lui une référence.

Comprenez-le, ayez pitié de lui. La débilité est innée et elle n’est pas curable.

S’il est le patriarche politique des maronites, je serai si chanceux de ne pas être maronite. Cela m’épargnera l’incommodité d’être malvoyant, car le proverbe dit : « Dans le royaume des aveugles le borgne est roi ».

Before it’s too late, the representatives of the 14^th of March coalition should reconsider any step towards amending the constitution and electing General Michel Suleiman.

Such a move would not only be a major setback to all of March 14’s endeavors in the past two years, it will be a blow to each and every one of us who went down to Martyrs’ Square on March 14, 2005.

The word is out and it’s spreading rapidly. Yesterday’s hawks are now acting like wet defeated chickens unless this is a bluff – in which case we would definitely be reassured. But what happened exactly? Has the futile Christian paranoia exerted by the Hizbullah- Theofascist ally, General Michel Aoun, finally made its case? Are we abandoning ourselves to the overt Islamic threat in Lebanon and their madman ally? But first, who is Michel Suleiman and what do we know about him?

General Suleiman was appointed by the Syrians as commander of the Lebanese Army in 1998. This fact for sure is not assuring.General Suleiman was at the head of the army when – to name a few events –: a) we were banned from demonstrating; b) we were summoned by the Lebanese Army secret services because of our political opinion; c) we were tortured by the Lebanese Army to “confess” whatever they wanted us to confess; d) mass arrests occurred on August 7, 2001 and demonstrations were violently and publicly crushed in front of the Palace of Justice two days later; e) Ramzi Irani disappeared and was found dead in the trunk of  his car (I will leave a question mark on that one). These facts are also not reassuring.

Now to give Suleiman some credits, he did not stand in the way of the demonstrations that were banned by Omar Efendi Karame’s government between the night of February 27 and 28, 2005. (Just for us not to forget, the decision to ban them was issued by both Sleiman Franjieh and Elias el Murr). In other words, he didn’t stand in the way of the emancipation of the – now fainting or six feet under – Cedar Revolution.

He also commanded the harsh battle – led by our brave soldiers – against Fath el Islam, thus crossing Hassan Nasrallah’s “Red Line”. This also gives him an extra credit. However, I resorted to conspiracy theory questions back then which are still unanswered. He also filled in the security vacuum after his predecessor finally found his place in “the garbage of history”. But why did he do that? Was it national duty or personal ambitions?

There are two undeniable facts that are uncomforting. The first is that General Suleiman denied all Syrian connection to Fath el Islam, he therefore sought to exonerate them from this crime. The second fact is that he is connected to the Syrian regime more than we know. Hi brother in law, Gebran Kuriyyeh was the official spokesman of Hafez Assad. He also recently paid a visit to his Syrian friends. Needless to mention is the Syrian-era reformed Lebanese Army creed that depicts the incestuous relations between the two countries…

Reassuring? No, I don’t think so. You don’t think so. We -14^th of March supporters – all don’t think so. So what is happening at the head of our pyramid? Why are the leaders excelling in disappointing us after praising our patience and promising us to reap the ripe fruits of our long march? Mind you, it’s not just a 2 year battle we’re talking about. It’s a struggle that has been going on for a century to say the least…Why? It’s all because of us, Lebanese Christians.

Just when the Arab and Lebanese Sunni community subscribed to the “Lebanon First” objective, just when the international community joined hands to secure our independence, we had to blow it. How? Let’s call this phenomenon the Orange General.

The Orange General and his presidential obsession Part Deux (Part One was in 1988) will always be remembered as the second blow to Lebanon’s independence. The first blow was when his misadventures paved the Syrians into the last free stronghold in Lebanon in 1989. Back then, the Syrians came in through the main gate. The Orange General is now allowing them back in through the window. His alliance with the Safavid’s Qizilbash division in Lebanon – which certainly goes against the laws of nature – and his supernatural arrogance has put the Christian community in an undesirable situation. 

The bearer of the Christians’ idiocies and sins, none other than the Patriarch Sfeir, was cornered recently in naming a president. Aoun’s escalating threats and scare tactics concerning the Christians’ future and the “Sunni takeover of the republic” prompted our Patriarch to push for Suleiman’s candidacy.  I hope this candidacy is bubbling in the media just like Michel Edde’s candidacy was. Otherwise, I hope there’s something good about Suleiman that we do not know about… 

I already posted how Compromise will only weaken the Christians, and apparently we are going this way.

Jumblatt’s latest attitude says it all, he knows only the army can protect him if a war erupts and wants to stay on the safe side while preserving his M14 principles, and Hariri doesnt mind any president ( as long as he is not pro-Syrian) and Aoun is still stubborn and refusing to sit and talk on another candidate than himself ..

Most rumors are saying Sleiman is gonna be president, and what a fatal mistake that is … ANOTHER ARMY GENERAL !!!

That will go down as M14 biggest failure in 2 years and a major drawback for Christians.

I cant believe we are picking a past syrian ass-licker as our next president.

Aoun in january 1990, in January 2005 …and in 2006 sob7an li bi ghayir  click here

now come tell me he has not changed his stances…

Every 10 years or so, Christians of Lebanon face a new crisis and the result is most of the time a compromise on their rights and powers. This ‘Arabization’ or even ‘Islamization’ process that has been undergoing since 1958 is its most critical point today.

Christians are losing their 50-50 status bit by bit. They already lost it in the past elections whereas almost half of their MPs were elected by Muslim votes and the worst is still to come. If no electoral law is voted on preserving the 50-50, Hezbollah might ask for a 1/3 1/3 1/3 representation from now on ( HA has already approached this manner with foreign diplomats and local ones), thereby destroying Lebanon’s identity and arabizing the country.

The only year Christians had muscles and were in a position to secure their future was back in 1982, where Sheikh Bashir Gemayel had a clear vision of our future, a clear program to implement and a local, regional & international support. Unfortunatelly, what was looking like a dream come true for us turned into a nightmare when Bash was assassinated.

Today Christian leaders ( Samir Geagea & Michel Aoun) are faced with a life-time challenge, either agreeing on electing a strong president or disagreeing and therefore compromising and electing a weak president. History will judge both men for their positions, specifically Michel Aoun and his stubborness.

You ask me is Michel Aoun a strong president ?

Michel Aoun obtained a large yet disputed majority in the past elections, however he signed an understanding with Hezbollah and therefore became dependant of HA’s policies, and will only harm Christians more if elected. Not only he violated the principles he defended for years while being in exile, but he lied to his voters and his people to gain their votes in 2005 ( Aoun’s party manifesto insisted HA should be disarmed and its weapons are illegal ( 2005 )).

As for Dr.Geagea, being in prison during the elections, his party only secured 5 seats, but he managed to reposition himself as a key element in the tri-alliance he signed with Jumblatt & Hariri.

As much as those alliances are unequilibred, both men can exploit their alliances in a positive manner and coordinate to come up with one president that will satisfy Christians’ demands, and not Hariri’s nor Hezbollah’s.

There is no room for compromise, and the only way out of this crisis ( in case both men dont agree) is for M14 to elect a strong Christian president from within their ranks, one that will abide by M14’s principles and force himself on Hezbollah and the Syrians.

I was expecting a president on the 23rd, and was very dissapointed M14 did not call for a session, however that might have been a smart move to let Lahoud end his term and avoid any stupid move from him, but now M14 must elect a president asap if Christian leaders dont reach an agreement.

How did we get in this mess ?? How are we gonna get outselves out of it ?

I am not surprised to say the least and i saw that coming months ago, it doesnt take a genius to realize Syria doesnt want a president and as long as its puppets here in Lebanon are strong, they will block in any way possible presidential elections.

They killed MPs to lower our numbers ..
They burned tyres and blocked roads to cause inner fights ..
THey set up tents in Down Town after failed attempts to assault the serail …
They initiated a war to destroy our economy …

We have reached a stage where i believe we should ask ourselves if we want to still live with Lebanese who support Syrians, who support any party against their own people.

Lebanon is our Cause wou bass ..
If Lebanon is not small enough for them, i say let us rediscuss this whole Lebanon issue and decide whether we divide the country or not.

Lebanon should have a new president tommorrow and if that is not the case, we are in serious trouble.

The solution is simple: ask the Opposition Mps to show up and if not vote 50+1 president.

If not, only Christians will bear the consequences unfortunatelly.

Its been a year, a year since Sheikh Pierre Gemayel was assasinated.

I said it last year and i repeat it : “Di3an hek shab bi hek balad !”

He was the “quality” Christians needed, he was a rising star in politics, he had plans for the future and was committed to them, he was clean, charismatic, patriotic, popular etc etc etc …

But that is all in the past, we started now counting years since he died, later on we will be having the 2nd year memorial for another great man, Gebran Tueni.
Instead of counting their achievements, we are commemorating their martyrdom without truly realising the immense losses we are enduring ..

Sheikh Pierre sakhra min Lebnen, another name added to that immortal list of martyrs, another great martyr from the Gemayel Family.

R.I.P Sheikh Pierre, Wou Sallemlna 3al Bashir wou 3ala Gebran wou kil chaheed.

I will dedicate tomorrow to posts related to Sheikh Pierre, his speeches, his assassination, pictures etc …

Will Syria let us have a new president ??
Will Syria let 14th of March go out as victorious after two years of assasinations and bombings ?

Everytime we have a major achievement, Syria would do everything to spoil it ..
One might wonder why there were no assasinations lately ?? Simply because it was not in Syria’s favor yet, and unless they were pressured by the Europeans and accepted their defeat in Lebanon, which i highly doubt, i have a feeling Syria is preparing something big, that will be the trigger for a new war or will cause major chaos in the country …

I sense Syria will got after one of its own men, kill a member of the 8th of March or maybe a member of the Aoun bloc, Syria knows by now that by dividing the Christians, it will weaken all of Lebanon and it will try to go for it one more time …

I hope i am wrong, but i dont see Syria letting go that easily.

How was the LBC founded ?

It was launched in 1980 as a national, educational, cultural and non-commercial television. It was Sheikh Bashir’s dream of having a TV that will broadcast to the whole world Our struggle and explain Our cause and get the world’s support.

Bash however did not live to see his dream come true. LBC was finally inaugurated on August 23, 1985 ( Elie Hobeika & Pierre el Daher & Sheikha Solange Gemayel were present in that famous press conference, i still have the video).

LBC became then the LF official TV, and remained so until 1994.

From 1994 till 2005, Sheikh Pierre was handed the LBC management by Hakim ( sallamo el 2amene), and we cannot deny that Sheikh Pierre El Daher did an amazing job by making the LBC one of the leading TVs in the whole Middle East, and founded LBCI and LBC Europe etc etc ..

Politically speaking, LBC stopped being the LF voice since Pierre had to compromise on several issues to keep it running, and sold shares to Pro-Syrian figures who had a major influence on the news. the LBC staff however were mostly LFers ( not anymore though), and it would have been unreasonable to close LBC for their sake.

So we can clearly conclude LBC should have closed since 1994 if we were to judge its political allegiance, since it sold the Cause and everything to stay running. What he did was disrespectful to the martyrs, to Samir Geagea and to the Lebanese Forces, and the least he should have done today is give Hakim & the LF their share from LBC, not just a financial one, but give them their own channel, their own station, an LF TV ( similarly to C33 that was a supplementary channel to LBC).

As for Hakim, He was jailed since 1994 till 2005, he gave Pierre el Daher full control on LBC, assuming he wont be in jail for more than a year or two, however that was not the case and 1 year became suddenly 11.

LBC’s image was totally changed by 2005 and Hakim was welcomed by Sheikh Pierre el Daher to take a share in LBC, but refused to turn LBC into an LF station. Both met several times, Hakim was asking for a larger financial share, and of course for controlling the news, which Daher did not allow.

I must agree with Daher on that one, it is unwise to destroy 11 years of hard work, specially at this critical time, we should have kept things as they are and exploited the good relation with Daher to promote our activities and speeches and use LBC’s potential for LF media monitoring & coverage ..

The demonstration that was sent to LBC ( i dont believe it was an unprepared one), was unecessary and it was useless, it had a bad timing, and no effect whatsoever. Hakim said it himself, things will be dealt with legally and the last thing we need is a clash with LBC.

Dr.Geagea being the LF leader has every right to get his rights in LBC back, however turning this issue into a legal & financial one is wrong from both men, wrong in regards to our martyrs, whose blood helped in building this station, wrong in regards to Sheikh Bashir, who wouldnt wanna wake up and see his dream turn into another tool for dividing Christians.

I cannot understand how more than 10 meetings didnt result in an agreement between two responsible men such as Daher and Hakim, i would have NEVER imagined LFERS demonstrating in front of LBC.

For all who insult me, i thank you, i wont insult back its not how i was taught to argue, but i urge you to read thouroughly this post and understand my perspective instead of accusing me of treason and betrayal not to mention the lame attacks ..

Think LF-wise, think Christian-wise.

The Patriarch finally gave Kouchner a list of 6 candidates, including Aoun, Harb & Lahoud and most importantly Joseph Tarabay, the head of the Maronite league.

I believe he is the best alternative and i support his candidacy. He is a clean person, very known for his services, very friendly and is not sided to either teams. He is not a compromise candidate, he is a strong capable one but with no ennemies.

The Patriarch seems to want him and i hope it works out.

I will be starting this new section soon, by exposing pictures and facts of the Syrian barbarism in Lebanon and by showing to all Lebanese and the whole world why the Cedars Revolution must prevail and Syria kept out of Lebanon.

It is a crucial time for Lebanon now, to decide whether Syria is brought back through its allies ( Hezbollah & co), or the new Independance we earned 2 years ago is preserved ..

Syria did not leave Lebanon, it is still spread like a virus through its allies here, it is still poisoning us, killing our leaders and intellectuals and terrorizing our people ..

Yes to closing borders with Syria !
Yes to jailing every Syrian agent in Lebanon !

Most importantly, i hope this new section will awake some sleeping heads who are still defending Syria and still think its a friendly and brotherly country.

To forget, we will never forget what those animals did to us ..

May our martyrs rest in peace.

After months of tensions between Aoun & Hariri, Monsieur le General goes on Jazeera and states that he agrees with Hariri on most of the political issues except the UN resolutions.

اجاب: تبينا أننا متفاهمون على كل المواضيع السياسية المطروحة ولا نقاط خلافية الا واحدة وهي قضية القرارات الدولية

Honestly sometimes i truly wonder how his supporters think, i hear them cursing Hariri on a daily basis, now its over, we all love him ?? Dont they feel ashamed of such behavior ??

This article was proposed by a friend - Cedrus Tutella and outlines his vision of the HA phenomenom in Lebanon…

HEZBALLAH: The COUNTER-SOCIETY

(Moujtama3 moudad)

It’s all in the name

Hezb-Allah. Two crucial components, intrinsic to the name. Hezb, as in “party,” as opposed to a militia, or an army, such as, say, Jaishallah. It was thus engineered from the start to be a movement with massive popular support, from which it would derive national and regional credibility and legitimacy. The Allah part is even more obvious. Guidance and orders are divine, and undivided obedience is a given. Hezballah, from a religious point of view, means “those who have chosen the path of Allah – unlike the rest…”

It’s in the flag too

A flag is the summation and summary of what one stands for. Hezballah’s mother entity, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, (Pasdaran) simply drew another version of its own for its successfully exported offspring. Let’s point out the analogies:

The Iranian sponsored Popular Resistance Councils. (PRC) But that’s another story. Or is it?

Threat to the nation

By imposing his paramilitary and fascist socio-religious model on an ever-expanding territorial basis, Hezballah constitutes a clear and present danger to our very existence. The threat is to the very inception of Lebanon, an entity in total antagonism with Hezballah’s religious tenets. Hezballah’s participants to politics are not religious men, as these are “above” the nation and its institutions, which they openly reject and deny, even ban from “their zones.” This is the concept of Dar al-Harb and Dar al-Islam, whereby Dar al-Islam is their world, and Dar al-Harb is… the rest, upon which they wage war until it is subdued and thus part of Dar-al Islam. Hezballah has already accomplished this agenda in Lebanon. It already controls its own Dar and is now moving in on the rest of us, into our Dar…

Hostile take-over

Since its inception, Hezballah, awash with unlimited Iranian cash and military support, capitalized on a Shia population which was extremely primed, due to its neglected and deprived situation, to fall for the flowing incentive, willingly or otherwise. All opposition was swiftly eliminated. Rival Shia party Amal soon reached the state of shadow ally. When the civil war ended, the occupying Syrian forces coerced all political entities in Lebanon to recognize Hezballah’s “special” status, and allow it to maintain its arsenal. Hezballah’s strength reached unprecedented heights under Lahoud’s shameful presidency, whereby the Iran’s militia forcibly replaced the nation and its institutions, applying its own rule of law.

Chosen path: war as an end, not a means to an end

No party should have an exclusive right to wage an independence war, or even to selectively fight one invader and hook its lifeline to another. But let’s assume this is all beyond us now. And Now is May 2000. The Israeli invader is out, and South Lebanon is free. The UN is handling remnants of territorial disputes and controversies. What is, then, the expected course of action for the valiant militia post-victory? Turn South Lebanon into heaven on earth, of course, an aim much facilitated by geography, and towards which most southerners were longing. Or NOT? Hezballah turned South Lebanon into one giant bunker, sinking billions of dollars in the process, and… postponed heaven until after death, which is where it belongs, they insist on “thinking,” and pursue their unending war agenda. The conclusion is clear.

Conclusion. A foreign mercenary force, politico-military amateurism, a hostage nation

On July 12, 2006, Hezballah, acting on obvious Iranian pressure, and betraying all promises of restrain made to both the government and the nation, launches a cross-border raid against Israel. We all know the results of this mercenary action. Despite the undisputed tactical success against the IDF, one is forced to recognize two things. The first is that the IDF never really intended to invade. If it did, it would have never bombed every single bridge and road crossing, all necessary communication routes for its entirely mechanized army. Hezballah, thanks to its drug smuggling network into the IDF, was quite aware that no mobilization orders were issued, for neither logistics nor reservists. No military intelligence activities were carried out either. Hence the words of being both surprised (by the intensive air raids) and ready (for the land invasion – it’s not coming!) The second essential aspect is that, in the Israeli strategic point of view, its Spoiling Attack was a total success, indeed a much better scenarios than victory against Iran’s militia. It diverted Hezballah’s total power against a much competitive neighbor and host nation which, once again, is a hostage nation. Hostage to a fascist counter-society with an alien and hostile agenda. For said counter-society, this is business as usual. They are not expecting any miracles this side of death. Hezballah smartly promised them something it doesn’t have to deliver. It comes after death.

Cedrus Tutela

We have tackled this issue tons of times already, without asking ourselves one important question:

Why is so much importance given to those elections ?? How come we cant agree on a president but we can easily agree on a head of parliament and a Prime Minister ?? How come Muslims can reach agreements and we cant ?? Is it the Christians’ fault or Our allies ??

A big responsability falls on Lahoud here, on the harm he has done to both Christians & Sunnites and the harm he has shown he is capable of in the past two years. He has shown in the past few months as well that the president is a crucial and powerful seat, and that one can no longer neglect his role, unfortunatelly of course he strenghened this seat the wrong way, but i believe this is the main reason why the Majority led by Saad Hariri, son of Rafiq Hariri who was mostly fought and harmed by Lahoud, is giving that much importance on the upcoming presidential elections.

Christian-wise, we were divided throughout the Syrian hegemony, but our leaders were weakened and today we got our leaders back and as a result, instead of uniting and cooperating and working as the moderator btw Sunnites & Shiites, we allied ourselves and became dependant of each side.

Why cant we agree on a president ? a simple and clear answer : Michel Aoun.

14M Christians & a large group of the 8M Christians (non-Aounists) want those elections to happen, and wont mind proposing someone different than Aoun, as long as Aoun agrees on him, but the dilemna here is that Aoun only wants himself at any expense and at any price.

It is his right to run for president, however it will be his biggest sin to block those elections and get us into more trouble. it would be a crime against his voters firstly, regardless of whether the other team is wrong or right.

Those elections were given that much importance because Christians were unable to agree and politicians from both sides are exploiting the chance to score some points, from Berri to Nasrallah to Hariri etc etc …

I dont know what will happen, no one does, everything seems so unclear, we are living in a chaotic situation that could get even worse, and we are yet to realize that .. it is like someone speeding on the highway and seeing a wall ahead of him and not braking at all ..

We are waiting for the trouble to come to us so we REACT, instead of ACTING and saving ourselves.

Who is to blame ??

First and foremost, each one of us who still follows blindly and votes for a leader, without demanding accountability and honesty.
Second, i blame Aoun’s stubborness and madness and blindness.
Third, i blame M14 Christians for being unclear in their statements and failing to name one valid candidate.

I guess we have to rely on Michel Hayek, he seems like the most reliable of all our politicians.

Because the Lebanese Forces was the first to take up arms when the time called for a fight, and the first to give up those arms when we saw a hope for peace settling on this land…

Because we have held the Christian cross on our shoulders along the long path to the ultimate sacrifice, not hesitating once to offer the dearest of what we had for the sake of this country.

Because the Lebanese Forces is an extension of a centuries old desire to stay on this land…

Because the Lebanese Forces was, is and will forever be an institution towards the future…

Because our resistance should never stop as long as we have not achieved the goals set forth, goals which include the consolidation of a strong and independent nation, free from all foreign intervention, a nation where we as Christians can live side by side with our Muslim compatriots on the same level, without thoughts of worry or fear, without any injustice or any inequality..

Because there are others in this country, who for reasons that have nothing to do with nationalism, or with the good of this land, prefer to wreck havoc and sow hatred, acting on external agendas and orders, or on personal dreams of grandeur and lust for power

Because, it is our duty as THE ORIGINAL resistance to do something for this country, to keep giving and never stop

Because we refuse to go back to the days where the gun was mightier than the pen and we refuse to immerse our country once again in the terrible bloodbath brought upon by war and because we refuse to have others settling their scores with our children’s lives and their innocent blood

Because of all the above, we at the Lebanese Forces have decided to shift our resistance effort onto something more constructive and thus came out with the Lebanese Forces Business Assembly (LFBA).

What is it?

Well it is a grouping of LF business men who are putting all their efforts together, forming a wall of resistance against the obvious plan to impoverish the Lebanese people, more specifically the Christians, pushing them to emigrate and leave this country.

Those men, who in the past held a gun in defense of their lands, today hold the pen and their businesses and aim at forming a safety net for their less fortunate brothers in order to help them survive those rough and tough days.

The image of the fierce fighter holding a gun, an image our enemies have long capitalized on keeping in the collective memory of the people in their nonstop effort to marginalize the Lebanese Forces, will soon be replaced by that of the educated business man opening up new business opportunities and investments to bring a long lost prosperity to this country.

As an example of their efforts, the LFBA will be hosting the very first Regional Congress in Cyprus this December. This congress aims at bringing together LFers from all over the globe to network, to communicate and to encourage each other to expand their horizons.

This should have a positive impact on business men based both in Lebanon, as it would open for them new ventures, and those based abroad as they would get a chance to give something back to their beloved country by investing in it.

The congress will also host a multitude of speakers from different economic domains who will attempt to present an accurate picture of the current economic situation in the country after the terrible tragedies that have not ceased to fall upon it.

I believe with this congress, the Lebanese Forces is turning a very important page in its history and proving to the entire world that it is always up to the challenge, be it a military one or an economic one.

It would be good to see other parties do the same instead of coming out with fiery speeches and useless rhetoric in an attempt to escalate things further into chaos

I spotted this banner on the road today, and another one showing how the army & the ISF are working together to defeat terrorism, but i started asking myself how efficient is the job being done ..

Lebanon unfortunatelly is an open space for many intelligences, and it is very hard to have a non-infiltrated intelligence, but i find it hard to believe we cannot come up with a group of professionals loyal to their institution and doing their job properly. If it is that hard, we can always get paid foreign professionals to do the job.

Since i believe in pragmatic & practical solutions, and just to show that am not talking for the sake of it, i will expose two examples of assassinations that occured and the incompetence our security forces have shown :

1- Antoine Ghanem & Gebran Tueni’s assassinations :

Both Anti-Syrian MPs were killed by a car bomb, and both were outside Lebanon and got back and Airport intelligence ( pro-syrian loyal to Lahoud), informed the ‘assassins’ about their arrival. How hard is it to put people in charge of monitoring those checking in & out passengers, those providing the lists of passengers arriving and leaving ?? it cant be that hard.

Ghanem came with a fake passport, someone visually saw him and reported it, it cant just be lists ..

Monitor everyone providing lists, restrict the lists to specific people, monitor the mails sent, monitor the janitors, monitor anyone suspicious or taking documents with him home … it cant be that hard.

2- Assassination of Pierre Gemayel :

Pierre was the only MP assassinated without a car bombing, he was shot in the middle of the day by armed men who managed to escape quickly and hide. He was being very closely monitored and was killed very easily ( unfortunatelly).

Now everyone knew Pierre was targetted, he was an Anti-Syrian MP, and potential next president and a young man with a bright future in politics. How hard is it to put a group of 5 to 10 people monitoring his every move ?? people who could have anticipated the assassination and acted in time ??

Those will monitor those monitoring him, it sounds easy and it is, and again if you cant trust local people, get foreign professionals, there are tons of security companies who would gladly assist us.

We have the “che3bit el ma3loumet” which are supposebly trusted people loyal to M14, but i dont see efficiency at all, i see a lack of personel and lack of competence and professionalism .. i understand the security institutions are still infiltrated with Pro-Syrians, but we can do better than that … we have a list of targets, the easiest thing is to monitor them the same way criminals do, that way we will end up monitoring the criminals

One common argument that i keep hearing lately by non-Aounists but neutral Christians is that Aoun deserves presidency because he gained the most seats in the last elections or heading polls, or because he is old and wont have another chance ( so 7aram let us give him this seat .. how bad can he be ?? )

The 2nd argument is truly pathetic and i wont bother answering it ..

As for the first one, i will not bother discuss the last elections held, and how Dr.Geagea was in prison and Aoun came back with new reforms and a new deceptive method to convince Christian voters that Jumblatt & Hariri are evil and he is the savior and that HA is a milita that is serving Syria’s interests of course ..

I will assume Aoun won the seats fairly and debate why he should not become president under any circumstances, and by any, i mean ANY !

1- The Lebanese system is based on a parliamental vote, and it is the majority in the parliament that votes for a president, and that majority is not Aoun’s majority, so constitutionally speaking he has no ‘legitimate’ right whatsoever to claim he deserves it.

2- Aoun does not have 70% of the Christians, Aoun is nothing without his allies and that was proven clearly in the last Matn elections where he lost his ‘Maronite’ majority, so he cannot claim as well his right to be president.

3- A president is not ‘traditionally’ nor ‘constitutionally’ the one with the highest popularity ( not proven though), and most importantly and thats what matters most to me, a president must have what it takes to be president and Aoun doesnt have ANYTHING a president must have.

- He is psycho and loses his temper.
- He is old and unstable mentally.
- He has no manners and could embarass us diplomatically.
- He has a past full of failures ( militarily & politically) and am talking objectively.

The only reason Aoun has any chances is because HA & the rest of 8M are pushing him and supporting him ( for their own purposes), but deep inside, i am quite sure they dont want him.

Getting Aoun into presidency is a suicide, it is not a compromise.
So i suggest all those considering this option to take it back and rethink of what this man is capable of .. and encourage young intellectual & Ambitious Maronites ( not necessarily from M14 or M8) to get to presidency.

Regards.

Union Libanaise Culturelle Mondiale

Objet : Droit de réponse concernant l’article “Liban, Pays des Esclaves…”

 de Dominique Torrès publié dans Le Monde le 11/10/2007

Chers amis,

Chers compatriotes,

Nous vous informons de la lettre que nous avons adressée, dans le cadre du droit de réponse, au journal le Monde et  à l’émission « Envoyé Spécial » sur France 2,  suite à la publication le 11/10/2007 de l’article de  Dominique Torrès sur les employées de maisons au Liban intitulé “Liban, Pays des Esclaves…”, sujet qui a été repris dans un reportage diffusé dans « Envoyé Spécial » le jeudi 18 octobre 2007.

La même lettre a été adressée aussi au quotidien libanais l’Orient le Jour pour informer les libanais de notre réaction.

Nous Signalons que beaucoup de compatriotes ont réagi aussi ce qui a poussé les journaux concernés à ne publier que des extraits.

(ci-joint une copie conforme de la lettre)

ULCM

————————————————–

A l’attention de Mme Dominique Torrès,

Chère Madame,

Nous avons lu avec la plus grande attention votre  article publié dans le journal Le Monde daté du 11/10  sur les employées de maisons au Liban, sujet  qui a été repris dans un reportage diffusé dans l’émission « Envoyé Spécial » sur France 2,  le jeudi 18 octobre 2007.

Si l’on peut être légitimement choqué par les agissements de certains employeurs de jeunes étrangères au Liban, il est inacceptable d’amalgamer tout le Liban et les libanais à ces agissements scandaleux et de plus réduire le Liban à la seule pratique de l’esclavage contemporain.

L’ULCM déplore l’exagération et l’inexactitude de l’article cité ci-dessus et tient à préciser les points suivants :

-         Si certains faits relatés sont réels, ils ne concernent nullement l’ensemble des 200000 employées de maison travaillant au Liban et plus d’un million d’ouvriers Syriens, égyptiens et iraquiens…Ces quelques cas ne permettent pas de généraliser comme le fait l’auteur contrairement à toute déontologie journalistique.

-         Beaucoup de contrevérités sont évoquées comme le salaire qui, contrairement à ce qui est écrit, atteint 300 dollars ce qui représente un peu plus que la moitié du salaire moyen d’un libanais employé de banque par exemple.

-         Toutes les employées de maisons ont obligatoirement la couverture sociale alors que celle ci n’est pas assurée à tous les libanais eux-mêmes.

-         Le nombre de ces employées augmente de plus en plus ce qui veut dire que la situation de ces gens n’est pas aussi mauvaise comme l’article essaye de montrer.

Ainsi  nous affirmons que ces actes sont loin d’être des habitudes libanaises et que nous sommes sûrs que dès l’installation d’un état de droit, ils disparaitront.

En attendant, nous vous invitons à publier notre réponse selon le droit qui nous est réservé car soyez sure Madame nous luttons comme vous le respect total des Droits de l’Homme au Liban et nous sommes conscients que nous allons y parvenir bientôt.

Veuillez agréer, Madame, l’expression de nos sentiments les plus respectueux.

Roger Hani     Président de      l’ULCM France        

 Nibal Moussa          Président du Comité     de la Communication   

Georges Abi Raad         Secrétaire Général  Mondial de l’ULCM  

 Antoine Menassa   Vice-Président  de l’ULCM

I was having today a very long and intereting debate, which started of with the assassination of Dany Chamoun and led to other political assassinations throughout our history and the ‘arguments’ that some refer to to justify killing their opponents and whether there are certain circumstances that could justify killing a person ..

It is true that most parties had a bloody history in Lebanon, and all leaders wanted to take control of their people, either by force or by bribbing their opponents .. and by force i mean eliminating ur ennemy physically ..

In the 70s, there was a struggle within the Christian militias, and Bashir Gemayel came out victorious after eliminating all opponents, and many were eliminated physically, starting with Marada and Frangieh followers and then Safra ..

Could this bloodshed be avoided in anyway ? Was Bashir capable of fixing things politically but he decided to take the easier way ??

Frangieh was already harrassing and killing Kataeb supporters in the North, Noumour el a7rar in Safra were causing too much trouble … can one unite armed militias in the middle of Palestinian presence without referring to force ??

I argue that Bashir had a greater goal, but to get there, one had to adapt with the current circumstances, since we were in war … but is that enough to justify the killing ?? I say yes & no ..

Yes because one cannot fight with his pen or his articles in times of war, when Palestinians were there along with Syrians and co, but was it impossible to reach an agreement with Dany the same way it was reached with Amine Gemayel in North Matn ??

No because i strongly believe one can find other ways to marginalize the other without eliminating him physically, and i strongly believe there is always another way to solve things ..

Keep in mind that this thread is in no way attacking Bashir, but is rather tackling the use of force in general ..

The Church defends the use of weapons or any tool to defend your property or when threatened .. but many cases do not apply here ..

If you look all over the worlds, Ataturk managed to create Turkey by force, while Indians did it peacefully, Americans had freedom & democracy ideas imported from the West, so they adapted and formed their country ..

As for us Middle Easterns, we are still on this killing mentality wishing that our political opponent to die and get sick