Archive for December 1, 2006

Why did Shadid refer to Iran and Syria as “patrons” (of Hizbullah), and France and US as “allies” (of Sanyurah)? Either they both have patrons, or they both have allies. And why did he offer this distinction between the two sides: “one more religiously traditional, one more liberal.” What? Are you kidding me? Lebanese Forces [...]

Posted on December 1, 2006 by As'ad

K. in Beirut sent me this on CNN’s Brend Sadler:“Did you know that the people who want to bring down the Siniora govenrment are extremely obese? This has been proven by none other than CNN. They calculated last year that about 1 million Hariri supporters filled Sahat al-Shuhada on March 14, whereas this year the [...]

Posted on December 1, 2006 by As'ad

From Beirut today: I can’t stand the Cedar flag. I still recommend the Hummus flag instead. (See above).

Posted on December 1, 2006 by As'ad

Nicholas Blanford now competes with Brend Salder of CNN for the job of the most loyal and consistent propagandist for Hariri Inc. (thanks MD)

Posted on December 1, 2006 by As'ad

“Hundreds of thousands of protesters from Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian opposition allies massed Friday in downtown Beirut seeking to force the resignation of Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, who was holed up in his office ringed by hundreds of police and combat troops.” (So Michel `Awn is now “pro-Syrian”?)

Posted on December 1, 2006 by As'ad

Sulayman Franjiyyah issued a statement in which he said that he didn’t intend to insult the Maronite Patriarch. So I was curious to find out what he had said. I called my sources in Beirut, and was told that in a live interview on Al-Manar TV, Franjiyyah said: that “the Patriarch saw women and tahayyaj [...]

Posted on December 1, 2006 by As'ad

“U.S. Assigns Terror Score to International Travelers” (Those who score high, get a blender.)

Posted on December 1, 2006 by As'ad

I was told that many Hariri pictures in at-Tariq al-Jadidah in Beirut were removed because they were afraid of the demonstrators spotting them.

Posted on December 1, 2006 by As'ad

Many of the chants in the Beirut demonstrations today referred to the tears of Fu’ad Sanyurah. When Sanyurah heard the chants, he made this statement: “boo hoo hoo.”

Posted on December 1, 2006 by As'ad

I suspect pro-Israeli Dahlan gangs.

Posted on December 1, 2006 by As'ad

“”Not all foreign affairs can be reduced to soundbites. This is why I was frustrated. One time I was on ‘Nightline’ and they said they would give me a long time: four minutes. Then I was on Al Jazeera where they told me that time would go by fast. They gave me 90 minutes. Here [...]

Posted on December 1, 2006 by As'ad

“In its original letter to the couple, Lisa Jensen and Bill Trimarco, the association said some neighbors had found the peace symbol politically “divisive.”” (thanks Ema)

Posted on December 1, 2006 by As'ad

Michael Slackman’s articles from Lebanon have been good. But notice the picture that they placed to go with the article. Notice that a handful of people supporting Sanyurah get more coverage than the hundreds of thousands of the opposition. At least the NYT did not send Hassan Fattah to Beirut.

Posted on December 1, 2006 by As'ad