Who needs a country anyway?

Check out this ridiculous news.

The opposition will not resort to street action before Jan. 27 and presidential elections will likely not take place until after March, the daily An Nahar reported Wednesday.
The paper, citing opposition sources, said the opposition will not resort to "escalation" or street protests before Jan. 27, the date set for a meeting of Arab foreign ministers to review the outcome of a mission by Arab League chief Amr Moussa.

The report, carried by the daily An Nahar on Wednesday, also said no election was likely to take place until after the March Arab summit in Damascus or even after legislative elections due in early 2009.

Moussa said he would be traveling to Damascus on Thursday for talks with Syria's leadership which has been accused of standing in the way of ending the crisis.

Several politicians and Beirut newspapers are already predicting that the Arab initiative is doomed to failure.

Good thing we're sending Fairuz to Damascus to really show them! Maybe her son could arrange a concert in Tehran. After all, all the Iranian money he has been receiving via his al-Akhbar contributions should be put to good use, such as destroying the only thing that held Lebanese society together during times of war and division.

What a disgrace. Instead of changing Lebanon for the better, some of its people want to change it to fit their own interests. Aoun wants to change the constitution to fit his persona, Hizbullah wants a war zone, and Ziad Rahbani wants cash to support his bad habits. Who hasn't sold out yet?

Comments

[aboujahl]

the bit about Fairuz does not surprise me because she is not Lebanese and we should know better were her real sentiments are. About her son! a short story .... a frustrated graduate of the Palisti-Lefty scene of the seventies .....

[danny]

I could not understand the part about 2009 elections...If there's no Prez, and HA is considering this gov illegitemate, who will be calling the elections??? It is absurd to even talk about it. These are just jibber jabber...Syria's head has to roll and the only way it is done is through Israel's agreement!! With HA and its bearded buffoon declaring war on USA if his patrons are messed with in Iran, why bother talking to these idiots! There's no country! Slice it up and let's get over it!Then if Syria wants a share in the new Lebanon, they can invest their stolen money back in...

[Solomon2]

Who hasn't sold out yet?

Exactly! So why aren't Lebanese out on the streets demonstrating and asserting themselves?

[Andre]

So our "shakeeka" is now holding the presidential sweepstakes hostage to its arab summit in March? How interesting! In other words they are now saying there will definitely be no elections without a summit! Take that Hosni Mubarak and Saoud Al Faysal. The arabs are paying the price of their own stupidity by having given Syria full control of Lebanon after the Taif accord, and now here they are crying foul after years of domination and abuse by the Assad regime who can't seem to get enough of both, even after his army was kicked out. Incapable arabs!

[Jeha]

AK,

Al-Nahar did not reveal a state secret; Jan. 27 is the date the Moussa mission will be considered a failure, and March is the time for the Arab league summit.

In between the two, wait... And duck. Personally, I do not mind Feyrouz singing, I welcome it; let art not be part of politics. And no matter how execrable the regime is, our society still has strong links with the Syrian hinterland. One thing I mind, however, is road interruption; the opposition better not try to block the roads, and the army better prevent them from doing so.

[aboujahl]

Because, my friend Solomon, a large chunk of what we call "Lebanese" have sold their souls to the devil and no one believes us if we go about saying "we the lebanese have nothing to do with this ...." In fact we have a lot to do with this because we sold out (many if not all) long ago ...

[marillionlb]

*AK
“Who hasn’t sold out yet?”
A very few hasn’t (this excludes all our politicians I am afraid to say). Those who keep on blogging and voice their disdain whilst others spend their free time engaging in leisurely activities and proclaiming out loud and proudly that they don’t care anymore.
As for Fairuz, if there is any logic to be found in all who think that she should go to Damascus and sing in the name of art, I would love to see how they will react if she had gone to Tel Aviv or sang for any Jewsih charity in New York for example. PLEEEEAAAASE!

*Solomon2, I would love nothing else than to take to the street along with TRUE Lebanese and demand the ELECTION of a president, the bulldozing of the tent city, the disarmament of Hizballah, the creation of civic centers, the restructuring of every single governmental institution, the inclusion of civic education within the school curriculum, …etc. But sure enough I will not live long enough to see it; but I will always demand it and fight for it (if not for me, then for my son).

*As for the Arab League if ever Amr Moussa succeeds it will be a first; but then again I stopped believing in Santa a long long time ago. All we needed was a bunch of despots telling us what to do.

[Solomon2]

a large chunk of what we call "Lebanese" have sold their souls

Why stay sold? Go betray the devil. You're already going to hell, so what can he do about it?

would love nothing else than to take to the street along with TRUE Lebanese

Someone always has to be first.

[Bad Vilbel]

1) The fact that the AL initiative was doomed to failure isn't new. Some of us proclaimed it dead on arrival the day it was announced.

2) Fairuz and her son can kiss my ass.

3) The entire Lebanese people have sold out long ago. As pointed out by others.

4) I and others have said before: We get exactly what we deserve. We deserve every little bit of this mess. And AK's title is spot on: Lebanon is a failed state and always has been. We don't deserve a state of our own (state? what state?) and that 10452 square km are better off being divided up into cantons, absorbed by the neighbouring countries, or plowed into the mediteranean, at this point.

[Fawzan]

You know what the problem is? Everyone knows were we are heading, but no one wants to be the first to say that. No one has the stomach for it regardless of the bahwara but Syria wants to "Tumble this place over our heads" as Assad said to Hariri and it is going to happen.

[Chris]

I tend to normally agree with most of you on this blog, and have the same ideals, but politics aside, Fairuz does not represent one camp in Lebanon, she represents all Lebanese. So what if she'd headed to Syria? There is no need to attack her. Yes everyone knows her son is a nutbag, but Fairuz represents something special to millions of Lebanese people within and outside Lebanon.

Back to politics - I just left Lebanon a week ago and to be perfectly honest, the common man on the street couldn't care less anymore about the President, the Government etc - it's almost like people have become bored of talking politics..........

[Andre]

I agree with Chris, Fairuz is a national icon and her image rises above politics, we should keep it that way,as everything else has fallen victim to party politics and as a consequence it has lost all credibility!

[Bad Vilbel]

For those of you defending Fairuz, ask yourself this: What if she were to go and perform in Tel Aviv? Politics aside. Would you be singing the same tune?

As far as I'm concerned, Syria is as much an "enemy state" as Israel (if not more these days).

[Solomon2]

"the common man on the street couldn't care less anymore"

Thus permitting those not interested in the common man to have their way.

What a sorry lot you Lebanese have become, letting foreigners poke you this way and that for their own ends and your own personal profit, then piously bleating, "It's not our fault!" when something goes wrong or when bombs start dropping. "Peasants", as the French would say, for you put your faith in your sectarian lords and not in liberty and fraternity.

Your present condition isn't nearly as shameful as your lack of will to risk bettering it. Is this not cowardice, shielded by a thin false veil of disinterest? Maybe when you travel abroad you should refer to yourselves as Canadians instead.

[marillionlb]

AK,
Kindly excuse me if I am taking space on your blog to answer some, and to voice out loudly my views and frustration (which is common amongst your readership).

*Solomon2: Yes I am willing to take to the streets, the same way I have done many times before even when I was residing in England. My call is for all those whom I consider to be “the silent majority” to organize and make their voice heard. Many of times this called was answered in the format of words and not actions (and I am the first one to admit to that). I did my fair share of lobbying both inland and abroad (and trust me when I say I have paid the consequences). And here we are the hope of an entire nation hiding behind our computer screens. BV is right in saying we deserve what we are getting. Again BV’s point is validated with Cris’s comment “the common man on the street couldn't care less anymore about the President, the Government etc - it's almost like people have become bored of talking politics..........” This is the main source of my frustration.

*BV,
No, not the entire Lebanese people have sold out, you still voice your opinion and vent your frustration on more than one blog; and it is reaching people like me (and some others, who still believe in Lebanon. 10452 Km2 or even more depending on how much rubbish we can still dump into the sea and claim land). Yes we do deserve what we are getting as long as we remain comatose and do not lift a finger. Even a minority can make a change (just look at that demented orange general). I say (and call me crazy) let us organize and make our voice heard even louder (put stickers on our cars denouncing this status quo , billboards reminding our fellow Lebanese of our culture and heritage, forming a new party that does not associate itself with any of the old feudal Lebanese families…..etc). Lebanon is too small to be divided (although it is). Say things the way they are. Yes there should be a “ghaleb” and a “maghloub”, and may the best man win.
As for Fairuz and her son, they can lick my ass too.

[Romanos]

Having read your commentaries, I personnaly think Fairuz is wrong. It is right that she is an artist, but before all she is made of blood and flesh, lebanese blood. She should feel concerned about the 30 years suffering of her fellow compatriots because of the Syrian regime.

It is right that lebanese deserve what they are living. They have never really fought for liberty. They have only given their lives to leaders that exploited them in the name of liberty.

But there still exists aware people, even if they are few.
These people have the responsability of acting, not only talking throught a PC.
We should meet ( if living in same countries ), organise ourselves and act.
If this is not done, every word prononced here will stay an unusefull mind masturbation.

Apologies for my modest english ( mainly french educated ).

Lebanese in Paris.

[Andre]

I understand everyone's feelings here and I do not share some of them, but the reality is that the Cedar revolution as it came to be called was made up of patriotic people from all ages, who took to the streets in unity regardless of their affiliations and for once in a very long time, stood together and spoke with one voice to let it know that they wanted their country to be free and independent. These people were dreaming big and were hoping for a bright future..they had at their side true lebanese patriots and intellectuals such as G. Tueni, S. Kassir , P. Gemayel and other martyrs who paid the ultimate price for daring to raise their voices and demand justice and liberty for a country that was subjugated and whose independence was in name only. This resulted in most of the world joining them to demand the end of the syrian occupation! They along the thousands upon thousands who camped in Martys square opened the door for the syrian army to leave and for Lebanon to regain its freedom. Unfortunately, it only took a few months afterward for business as usual to come back and stifle all aspirations which eventually killed the momentum gained on these eventful days. The truth is that the new generation of lebanese will fight heart and soul for their country but they also need reliable leaders from all facets of life to lead the charge and keep the fire of change burning and that is where the self serving lebanese spirit fails us. Just look at the current class of leaders we have and you get the point. Liberty and change have a price and it must be paid for one way or another. The enemies of Lebanon were shocked by this popular upheaval so they planned the killing of those that were instrumental in leading the people with their intellect and voice...these leaders were assasinated, they were young and full of promise, but they paid for their courage and also as a warning for those that dared stand up and rise against oppression and occupation, instead we now have no true leadership, we are back to our old feudal system called sectarianism and a country headed towards the unknown. I pray that it will not take the complete breakup of our nation for us all to wake up...it'll be too late by then. An intelligent debate is needed on these sites but more importantly all lebanese from all walks of life should mobilize somehow wherever they are and make their voice heard, build a strong organized movement and push for change, the ball is in our court to act if we are willing to sacrifice and fight for what we all hold dear.

[aboujahl]

...why not - instead of all this commendable but useless altruism and patriotism - focus on workable solutions. one at least, has been tried and tested for centuries by the Swiss: a confederation of different peoples; we are indeed not the same people, not the same nation that we are pretending to be and there is nothing wrong with working for a different one; now is the time, otherwise the detrimental arabization of lebanon, which the last civil war had brought about will pale in comparison with the current ruinous iranization ...

[Romanos]

To aboujahl.

You are wrong Aboujahl, we are the same people. The problem is with the pupet leaders that import foreign ideoligies and identities for Lebanon.
As you talk about " iranization ", I find usefull to mention that today shiites are not the same shiites 30 years ago. Hezbollah has done great job since then. He has successfully taken all his community in hostage ( social aids and petro-dollars ) and brain-washed it.
Partition is the easy way, but it won't solve our problem ( international policy will still be the same ), and it will certainly not be livable. Many reasons against federalism or partition, too long to develope.
Lebanese Youth in schools and universities are total sheeps and slaves to the political tissue. No hope from them.
Adults are cowards, resigned, or fatalistic, enslaved and bought by politicians.
The only hope for Lebanon are the expatriates. They are cultivated people, powerfull by their leading positions and their relations all over the world, independant financially and have nothing to loose ( they have already lost the privelege of living in the land they grew up on ).
And between them there is no need for any party. Lebanon is a party in itself. Patriots always get along with each other, because patriotism is like truth, it is unique and doen't support more than one version.
Debating on the net is ok, but a country only rises on the corpse of it's sons.
We should act.

[aboujahl]

Romanos, with respect, a nice but flawed sentiment: first, there is no such thing as "foreign" or 'local" ideologies; ideology is just what it is: the perceived antidote for all incapability that in the end sweeps away any identity. Further, I disagree with the bit about the "Lebanese youth", and I do not think we should burden them with the pile up of failures over the centuries. More important, it is certainly not the "cultivated expatriates" who are going to solve the problem; certainly not some of the ones I have seen after they have fattened their pockets in the persian-arabian gulf!

[Solomon2]

"My call is for all those whom I consider to be “the silent majority” to organize...I did my fair share..."

"the Cedar revolution as it came to be called was made up of patriotic people from all ages, who took to the streets in unity"

So close, but you guys still don't quite get it. Whether he was a creature of the Saudis or the West or little green men, Hariri, who rebuilt Beirut, was not just your leader but your king, at least by Louis Mumford's definition. It was only natural that the response of many Lebanese to his death was united and immediate. But after his aura of leadership faded and other bright lights were snuffed out, it was to be expected that Lebanese would break into factions as new challenges appeared.

True leadership is established by those willing to take an UNFAIR share of risk and responsibility and to pay the price for it - and keep paying. You've paid enough, you say? Well, that's the unfair part.

Only in that fashion can you test Andre's statement: "The truth is that the new generation of lebanese will fight heart and soul for their country but they also need reliable leaders from all facets of life -"