Aoun Lambasts the Parliament - But Why?

Tayyar.org and Naharnet report that Aoun has now blamed parliament for the current impasse in Lebanese politics, and has recommended that new parliamentary elections be held as his most preferred solution.

I hate being hard on Aoun because too many people already are, but what the hell is the point of new elections? Is parliament an active institution today? Or has it been replaced by this parallel political institution we call Hiwar el Watani, which completely neutralizes majorities, minorities and all the other institutions and processes that parliaments offer?

I seriously doubt a third of Aoun is sitting on that table, half of Hariri, a third of Nasrallah, etc... The only thing that Parliament actually contributes to the Hiwar table is that it prevented idiots like Arslan and Franjieh from attending. And that's it.

So let us assume, for Pete's sake, that we hold parliamentary elections tomorrow. Aoun gets a larger share, Hizballah and Amal get a little more seats, and Jumblatt and Hariri get smaller shares. Will the "Hiwar" table look any different? I don’t think I need to answer that question.

The simple fact of the matter is that Parliament is irrelevant. The first political institution in the country that was effectively liberated from the grip of Damascus has been shut down. Syria, Hizballah and the rest of them have done their best to discredit it, and bypass it in the political process. That is the reason our dear Nabih Berri (of all people) decided to shut down the institution he heads and come up with these pathetic Hiwar sessions.

Aoun, my friend, I don't know why you've made this recent political declaration. A more friendly parliament will not get you anywhere.

So now I’m left with the question of Why? Why have you made these obviously ridiculous claims?

Beat the damned woman into submission

Another article in the Dailystar about another woman beaten to death by her husband and brother.

So what was this woman's "crime?" Did she cheat on her husband? Did she "dishonor" her family in any way? Not even! The woman's only death-deserving crime was that she "frequently had disagreements with her husband."

She was 30. She brought two children into this world. The Dailystar does not even give her a name. She's just "a woman." I am going to call her Iman because, whoever she is, she deserves a name.

So what is the ridiculous twist to this story?

Iman's brother and husband were merely following the advice of someone they percieved to be worthy of offering it: a sheikh. The sheikh diagnosed Iman as "being possessed by demons." He then prescribed "beating her hard on the head until the evil spirit leaves her soul."

Tomorrow life will go on. We'll forget about Iman. Next month we'll read another similar story in the Dailystar. And life will go on!

Thomas Friedman has at least some good ideas!

I have to confess. I have never read any of Thomas Friedman's books. I know... I know... Some people argue that his writings are equivalent in importance to the Bible, Quran and Torah, combined. But, frankly, I was turned off by all the attention the dude got. So I never bothered.
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True to precedent though, Friedman's most recent book The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, is now the talk of town. Doha tells me that it is almost required reading at her work place, for example. Personally, I don't plan to read that book either. But, then again, I did attend a lecture Friedman gave at Hopkins, so I guess I cheated.
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To be frank, the guy has some interesting thoughts. Most prominently, he is now campaigning to transform the alternative energy issue from a "green, tree-hugger" issue into a "national security" one. He points to countries like Iran, Venezuela, and to the fact that Islamic fundamentalism is essentially funded by US dollars that go to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries to make his point.
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The message seems to resonate over here. But it’s definitely not a new one. Who knows? Maybe Mr. Friedman’s voice will yield positive results by drawing it closer to the heart of political discourse, as opposed to the fringes – which is where it has been since the late nineties. His most recent contribution to his campaign is an article he wrote in the Foreign Policy Magazine, titled "The First Law of Petropolitics, Why the price of oil and the pace of freedom always move in opposite directions."
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The article can be found in the May/June 2006 issue of the magazine (i.e. it just hit the stands). And yes, I did read it. A shame, yes… but, as I said earlier, he did present some good ideas, like this one about politics and development in what he terms as “petro-states”.

Very often in petrolist states, not only do all politics revolve around who controls the oil tap, but the public develops a distorted notion of what development is all about. If they are poor ... it is not because their country has failed to promote education, innovation, rule of law, and entrepreneurship. It is because someone is getting the oil money and they are not. People start to think that, to get rich, all they have to do is stop those who are stealing the country's oil, not build a society that promotes education, innovation and entrepreneurship.

I think Friedman hit it right on the mark with that one. The image of Jumblatt on Kalam en Nass "advising" the Gulfies to "share" their oil wealth a little more generously keeps recurring in my head. Most Lebanese would probably agree with him too – as if it were somehow their god-given right to get a share of petro-dollars.

Unfortunately, the thought of challenging society to create the wealth, and challenging the state to provide society with a suitable environment to do so, simply does not occur to him or the rest of our beloved people! In their eyes, there is nothing wrong with our behavior as a people. Noooo... Our problem is that we need more petrodollars so that we remain the way we are, but drive more BMWs and Mercedes-Benz’s and (we should not forget, lest we anger some of our more principled brethren) fight the Israelis 'til kingdom come!

They're Still Talking...

UPDATE: The national dialogue meeting was adjourned and guess what? They have postponed coming up with any definitive answers on the Presidency and Hizbullah's arms until mid-May.

The national dialogue is the best and worst phenomenon hitting our country after the Beirut Spring of last year. The best, because politicians are still talking and haven't pointed guns at each other yet. The worst, because it has killed any momentum towards resolving long-standing issues in the country, because it has killed many of the youth's willingness to participate (heck, we have no say and no role!) Time has no essence in our part of the world, but in reality, life goes on, students graduate from schools, youth get unemployed and search for jobs, others leave the country, others shut down their businesses...you name it.

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They're in there, still talking...

And according to the Tayyar website, Pierre Gemayel left the national dialogue meeting and told the press that the Presidency issue is still on the table being discussed. This is perhaps good news? Good news that the participants are still talking and have not given up yet?

This time around, though, the pictures don't show any coziness or smiles amongst the attending politicians. Since the dialogue started some two months ago, there were more high hopes about the outcomes. They kept on postponing the pertinent issues, until many grew apathetic (including me), until the rift grew larger amongst the two competing political blocs.

Anyways, we're still waiting for the outcomes ensuing from today's talks. What could come out of today?....Until then, check out this picture that speaks a thousand words:




"Nobody knows how many rebellions, besides political rebellions, ferment in the masses of life which people earth."

cost comparison and price of oil ...

The cost of drilling Saudi oil in 2003 was around $1.5/barrel ... approximately four times below the world average. (sorry... no figures for today)

The cost of extracting the oil out of Canada's oil sands is around $20/barrel (key variable: cost of natural gas, which is key ingredient in extraction process).

At $70 per barrel, it is no wonder corporations such as Exxon Mobil are setting record profits, Gulfies have no idea what to do with their money, and Iran is so damn cocky!!!

Le Cost Killer Does it Again!!!!

After pulling off what some have termed a miracle by turning a struggling Nissan Corp into one of the most profitable corporations in Japan, Carlos Ghosn is now swinging his magic wand in the land of frog legs and stuffed goose liver!

Renault shares surged to a 10-year high on Tuesday as investors pointed to rising first-quarter revenues as evidence that the profit plan of Carlos Ghosn, chief executive, was starting to bear fruit.

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Mr. Ghosn took over at Renault 12 months ago but it was only in February that he outlined a plan to boost profit margins from 2.5 percent last year to 6 per cent in 2009, add 800,000 car sales and improve quality. (Financial Times)

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All you Renault drivers out there... you now have another reason to stick with the Brand!

Support Carlos!!!

The Lahoud saga reflects Lebanon's saga

Lebanese Politician A: "Well... if you don't accept my position on this matter, I'm perfectly willing to live with the current situation"

Lebanese Politician B: "So am I"

Lebanese Politician C: "Hey... if I don't get what I want, neither of you get change either!"

You know something... with attitudes such as these, it is a miracle that our civil war came to some sort of an end. In our society, if a plumber does not have an opinion about everything from cockroaches to god, then he's not worth the worn-out socks he wears every day to work! Never mind a politician.

I can't even fathom the number of times our "leaders" have decided to leave things the way they were because they could not find it in them to arrive at a consensus regarding how to move forward.

• How many utterly useless Presidents and Prime Ministers have Lebanese had to live with because their leaders could not agree on a successor (or a more suitable alternative)?
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• How many projects have never left the drawing board? Projects like a new Beirut-Damascus highway, shelved in filing cabinets since the 1950s. Projects that could improve the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese.
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• For how long has Lebanon's energy sector been in crisis? For almost 2 decades, successive governments have been launching the same damn "rescue package" for EDL without any outcomes.

It would appear that Lebanese enjoy living with 12 hours of electricity a day. It's expected of us! We need to keep our leaders in positions of strength! So we should be willing to eat crap if they ask us to. Anything... so long as "the others" don't get what they want!

Sometimes... I wonder.

All it takes is a decision

I remember after returning to Lebanon in the early nineties, I was around 11 or 12 years old. Maybe during my first week in the country, I was in a car that my dad was driving, looking out the window and absorbing my surroundings... my country... the place I was going to live in for the next 13 years of my life. In a brave yet desperate attempt to shine some light into what was essentially a very gloomy picture, I told my dad

hey dad... you know what? at least the war had some good effects on Lebanon! Look at all the police cars. They're all brand new! I'm sure that wouldn't have been the case if the war didn't take place....

My dad looked at me. He was dumbfounded. After a long stretch of silence, he simply shrugged and told me that I had a point.

Looking back at that event, I now realize that a kid is able say such things. He can say them because he has his whole life ahead of him. He has not invested anything. Everything, to a child, is the future. The present is merely a fact he has to live with. The past is History... the History of older generations. Merely a curiosity.

Today, of course, I feel very different. When I first moved in, Traffic Cops would fire their AK-47s towards the sky to get traffic moving. Soldiers in Army checkpoints were only too willing to fire their weapons too.

I witnessed the first time trash was collected regularly in front of my grandma's house. Today... despite the innumerable problems that Lebanon faces, it now boasts a beautiful Downtown, and wonderful neighborhoods, such as Monot, Hamra, Jemayze, Verdun and more.

I literally witnessed these neighborhoods transform from shabby, colorless, emptiness into renovated, manicured and colorful quarters sprawling with life and activity. For a whole decade I painstakingly watched as street after street was paved... as sidewalks were elevated... street lights installed and trees planted. I always lived with the question: "so when will these guys finish this project?" And I looked forward to vacations, because I wanted to come back to Lebanon and notice real differences.

I am now invested.

Even though I contributed nothing material to those projects, I feel that the patience and anxiety I expended as I watched their implementation entitled me to some sort of ownership. You see... cement, asphalt and metal were not the only materials that went into those public projects. Anxiety and patience also went into them. And without a doubt, I was not the only individual who watched and waited as those construction crews diligently upgraded the services offered by our city.

Today, new police cars simply won't cut it. They would constitute a paltry bribe that would not even draw my attention – unless of course, a twelve year old points them out to me.

History is now my history... not my father's nor his father's. I can stake a claim to history. In that history I lived and grew. Today, I have something to lose. In fact, I have a lot to lose.

Yet, I feel powerless in the face of developments, and I am fearful that they may lead the country into the inferno once again. All it takes is a decision - a decision that all the politicians should refrain from making. As for Hizballah in particular. It should know that the PLO also claimed that its weapons were solely for the purpose of liberating Palestinian land. That assertion did not prevent the Lebanese civil war.

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And they say there is no such thing as a Mediteranean Culture...

As far as I'm concerned, the Italians picked Silvio Berlusconi right out of the streets of Beirut! In a little segment titled "Silvio's Best Hits," TIME Magazine presented Berlusconi's most memorable quotes.

Enjoy:

ON HIS GOVERNMENT:

"We have worked a lot. Only Napoleon did more than me - but I am certainly taller than him.

ON HIS LEADERSHIP STYLE:

"I am the Jesus Christ of politics. I am a patient victim, I put up with everyone, I sacrifice myself for everyone."

ON THE ITALIAN JUDICIARY

"Those judges are doubly mad! In the first place, because they are politically mad, and in the second place, because they are mad anyway."

ON ITALY'S FASCIST DICTATOR BENITO MUSSOLINI

"Mussolini never killed anyone... [he] used to send people on vacation in internal exile."

and my personal favorite, ON THE PERKS OF INVESTING IN ITALY

"Italy is now a great country to invest in ... Today we have fewer communists, and those who are still there deny having been one. Another reason to invest in Italy is that we have beautiful secretaries ... superb girls."

Twenty Eight, and Counting

Samir Kuntar is the longest serving Lebanese prisoner in Israeli prisons. He’s been there for twenty eight years. On this day, As-Safir published an article by Samir.

You can also check this site: www.samirkuntar.org.


"Any nation that thinks more of its ease and comfort than its freedom will soon lose its freedom; and the ironical thing about it is that it will lose its ease and comfort too."
W. Somerset Maugham

Ethnic Entrepreneurs

Sound familiar? Well try Sectarian entrepreneurs on for size!

... self-seeking group leaders, who encourage feelings of resentment and inequality amongst group members in order to justify maintaining control over them.... On this view, group elites have an incentive to keep members in a (real or perceived) position of disadvantage, since their clientele and fuding would dry up if group members succeeded in larger society. (Kymlicka 2002: 331)

For You Aboudy, I Will Write!

I haven't been writing for a while now; I forced Lebanon down the priority list. I kept on reading everything, just like I do everyday, but the more I read about growing sectarianism and petty status-quo politics, the more I was afraid to write about them, lest they become an inevitable reality.

Not until my brother started popping up recently on this blog and asking us for thoughts on this or that. My brother of 20, who suddenly was interested in reading what we write on this blog, who wanted to discuss and respond and debate about politics in Lebanon...

I owe it to you Aboudy; I also owe it to this blog, and to Lebanon. I owe my optimism to all those optimists. For you Aboudy, I will write, because you represent this wild Lebanese youth, this youth that is just starting to be shaped and molded by the realities on the ground. If I can create a space for debate about Lebanon here, then I can say, I have paid a contribution somehow to Lebanon by promoting liberal ideas about governance and citizenship.

If I can touch one person, then I can say I made a difference.

You might ask: where did this renewed optimism come from? Simplistic as it may seem, it came from a reception I attended yesterday in honor of PM Fouad Seniora here in DC.

I took a break from the daily rat race, stopped a routine, to attend an event which helped me see that Lebanon is not yet a hopeless case. After Seniora's moving words in closing: You are Lebanon and Lebanon is you!, I looked around me and saw a group of Lebanese professionals, women and men, of high caliber, rubbing shoulders and talking. Interestingly, most of them are AUB alumni.

We were all there, not a sect, not a region, not a party...we were there as a class of educated professionals. Professionals who have an interest in a Lebanon that can host them back, a Lebanon that creates jobs for them, and a safe haven for them and their children. This is why we were all there listening to Seniora. Our Lebanese citizenship was not the only binding characteristic; perhaps what brought us together was a yearning for an "accepting" Lebanon.

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And in the midst of all that big-picture optimism about what is and can be for our country, President Lahoud preached today on TV about his clean hand, about how because he's a clean guy, some corrupt groups are out there to get him...the rest becomes irrelevant. Then we see Aoun and others wasting air space to spew careless remarks here and there....

My political thoughts after this break? I personally have become sure that I would not like to see Aoun as president. He loves petty politics, loves the tit-for-tat dynamic and misses the big picture. Lebanon now is not about a presidency; it's about a way of governing, a vision for the future, a welcoming greet so all of us could flock back to contribute. Aoun reminds me too much of the past; a past that knows no stepping down after ruling, a la democracy, a past that is marred by blood, the rifle, and your sect.

In Lebanon, I realized, what is needed is not a strong leader who imposes ideas and policies on other Lebanese or simply represents the Lebanese through electoral politics, but a leader who acquires his strengh from channeling ideas and policy options from others, acting as a facilitator, bringing every asset Lebanon has and putting it on the table to bear.


"Nobody knows how many rebellions, besides political rebellions, ferment in the masses of life which people earth."

Two regional blogs you need to read!

Okay, I know that some of you read the blogs I am about to highlight, but I need to point them out anyway.

Vox, I've seen you comment on the Egyptian Sandmonkey's blog, so I am sure you enjoy his work. As for those of you who are yet to check it out, you're missing a very witty, intelligent and active blogger. The Sandmonkey usually posts several entries a day pertaining to Egypt, regional politics, Islamic crazies and subjects that essentially run the entire gamut of issues.

Also, Abu Kais and I had a little discussion today, in which he pointed out another extremely interesting blog: Regime Change Iran. Now, I visited that blog for the first time today, so I really can't vouch for it too much, but it does seem active, and conveys a lot of news. Abu Kais mentioned that they publish around ten to fifteen entries a day.

Besides, any blog or website titled "Regime Change Iran" is definitely going to be high on my list of blogs. Thanks Abu!!!

Fossil Fuels Just Won't Go Away!!!!

Canada has recently been recognized as the country with the second largest oil reserves in the world. The reason: 176 billion barrels of recoverable oil from massive oil sands deposits in Alberta. By comparison, Saudi Aramco claims that oil reserves in Saudi Arabia amount to 263 billion barrels. Current oil prices make converting oil sands into oil economically feasible (and the technology is only getting better).

In the United States, private citizens and oil companies are beginning to look into converting "shale" into oil. Shale traps a compound called kerogen; and kerogen is an organic material that, when heated into a liquid, can be converted into synthetic oil.

Conservative projections of the oil recoverable from shale deposits in the states of Utah and Wyoming alone stand at 130 billion barrels. Similar estimates indicate that there are over 2 trillion barrels of oil trapped in shale in place in the continental US.

Commercial production of oil from shale has never advanced because it has always been cheaper to produce conventional domestic supplies and to import oil from abroad. But now, with conventional US production in decline ... and with seemingly perpetual geopolitical instability in major oil producing regions abraod, a reexamination of generating oil from domestic shale deposits has become a necessity.

Source: Cedoz, Frederick, Thinking Beyond OPEC, The Journal of International Security Affairs, Spring 2006

From a political perspective, I couldn't be happier. More oil in the States and Canada means less money for the crazy dictatorships and regimes in the Middle East. Let the US deal with the "negative externalities" of drilling oil and having a rentier state themselves and let us develop without the weight of oil on our chests. I'd rather be a consumer of oil than a producer!

From an environmental perspective though, I couldn't be more disapointed. Are humans ever going to kick the habit?!?!

The Epitomy of Sectarian Politics

When a Lebanese Prime Minister declares that he would like to have a united, liberal and free Lebanon that is economically prosperous,

• Maronites only see him as a Sunni, and support a Maronite leader who works against him simply to promote "Maronite Power" even though this Maronite leader is propped up by Syria.
  
• Shi'as who share his views only see him as a Sunni and support Hizballah - an organization that seeks to turn all of Lebanon's Shia's into cannon fodder for "Holy" Iran.
  
• Druze only see him as a Sunni leader and support him as long as their leader supports him.

Petty. Very petty. Very Lebanese. Okay... here comes a lament for Lebanon: If ONLY we could see through our sects.... If only we could come together based on shared vision of Lebanon's future, as opposed to bla bla bla.... We've heard this before a million times.

A tangent- International Movies

For those living in the Washington D.C. area and interested in the arts, you might be interested in the film fest D.C. A Washington D.C. Film Festival.

I assume those who have been living in D.C. longer than I have (i have been here only a few months really) would be more familiar with it.

This year, the festival is showing an Iraqi documentary called "Iraq in Fragments" and a Lebanese documentary called "Bosta." Both are a must see! as i was told.

My sister had a chance to watch Bosta in Lebanon last year and apparently it was a great hit. Below is a link to the description of the movie on the film fest website.

http://www.filmfestdc.org/

Find also a description of the documentary on Iraq on its website. "Iraq in Fragments" is also being shown this month at the San Francisco International Film Festival in San Francisco, Ivy Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina, True/False West in Wellingham, Washington State and at the Istanbul International Film Festival in Istanbul, Turkey.

http://www.filmfestdc.org/
http://www.iraqinfragments.com/

Other documentaries in the film fest you might be interested in are the myriad of movies on the role of Hip Hop around the world. If you look hard enough you will even find a little something on Palestinian Hip Hop.

Lebanese Back on the Streets

Yup!!!

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Lebanese are back on the streets... protesting injustice and cruelty! The banners are up... the drums are rolling... and the screams can be heard for blocks!
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So, what is the new source of this injustice and cruelty?
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Well... it is not Syria... nor is it Israel. Those two guys have been around for quite some time now! There is nothing new about them.
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Neither is it the US or France... Somewhat confusing, I know...
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So what is it???
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My dear friends and compatriots… Lebanese have come together again and broken down sectarian barriers to protest against the cruel and inhumane behavior of that evil country known as Ethiopia!
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Ethiopia!!!
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So what has Ethiopia done to deserve universal Lebanese wrath? It has refused to export our maids and servants to us!
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Rumor is now rife… a militia is being formed in Lebanon to defend its citizens from Ethiopian aggression, and to conduct raids against the Evil Ethiopian regime as a means of pressuring it to export our maids!

Residents of Beirut staged a demonstration in front of the Ethiopian consular offices on Thursday [13 April] to protest over the delayed arrival of Ethiopian workers who were supposed to be in the country in accordance with an agreement recently reached between the Lebanese and Ethiopian governments.

The Ethiopian and Lebanese governments agreed on 1 February 2006 for the export of Ethiopian workers to Beirut, Lebanon. According to the agreement, 8,000 Ethiopian men and 30,000 women will be exported to Beirut. About eight agencies have been set up and each of them has deposited 37,000 dollars in Beirut and 25,000 dollars in Ethiopia to effect the accord. Our sources reveal that four organizations have been established in Ethiopia to legally link employees to employers.

Although 1,250 workers were supposed to be exported to Beirut in February and March in line with the agreement, the Ethiopian Ministry of Workers and Social Affairs has delayed the process saying it would take care to avoid similar problems that occurred in the past.

Sources confirm that the agencies in Beirut complained over the delay after they had collected money from employers and deposited huge money hoping that the worker would arrive in time. Residents also staged a demonstration in front of the Ethiopian consular offices in Beirut and were dispersed by security forces.

According to the agreement reached between the two countries, the Ethiopian male workers would be employed in construction, guarding and driving; replacing Koreans who are leaving Beirut.

Following the agreement signed in February 2006, Lebanon has lifted a ban it imposed on Ethiopian workers on 1 July 2004 not to enter the country.

Source: BBC Monitoring International Reports - Translated from: The Reporter website, Addis Ababa

The Oppression Continues

"You are under arrest for Slander!"

No, no... this is not the Syrian Mukhabarat arresting a guy for saying that Bashar Assad was not God.

That little quote is what they told Mohammed Moghraby before sending him to trail in a military court for slandering the military!!!

It appears, my friends, that old habbits die hard. Poor SOB! This is a relic of the occupation. This type of arrest is what those stupid pro-Arab junkies are protecting! "You are under arrest for drinking Pepsi instead of Coke" ... And after a mockery of trial (if they even bother), you'll be sent to solitary confinement for the rest of your life.

Allah... Praise the Arab Nation - and Syria in particular for standing up to those Satan Worshipers across the Mediteranean and the Atlantic!

Allah... Thank You for Sending us Your Party to Earth to protect us from those Satan worshipers!

Bush & Seniora Taking a Walk in the Garden

BUSH: It has been my honor to welcome the prime minister of Lebanon to the Oval Office. Prime Minister, thanks for coming.
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SINIORA: Thank you very much for giving us this opportunity.
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BUSH: Well, we just had a really interesting discussion.
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I told the prime minister that the United States strongly supports a free and independent and sovereign Lebanon. And we took great joy in seeing the Cedar Revolution. We understand that the hundreds of thousands of people who took to the streets to express their desire to be free required courage.
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SINIORA: Yes.
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BUSH: And we support the desire of the people to have a government responsive to their needs and a government that is free -- truly free.
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We talked about the need to make sure that there is a full investigation on the death of former Prime Minister Hariri. And we'll work with the international community to see that justice is done.
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We talked about the great tradition of Lebanon to serve as a model of entrepreneurship and prosperity. Beirut is one of the great international cities. And I'm convinced that if Lebanon is truly free and independent and democratic, that Beirut will once again regain her place as a center of financial and culture and the arts.
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BUSH: There's no question in my mind that Lebanon can serve as a great example for what is possible in the broader Middle East; that out of the tough times the country has been through will rise a state that shows that it's possible of people of religious difference to live side by side in peace, to show that it is possible for people to put aside past histories to live together in a way that the people want, which is there for (ph) to be peace and hope and opportunity.
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And so, Mr. Prime Minister, we're really glad you're here. I want to thank you for the wonderful visit we had, and welcome you here to the White House.
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SINIORA: Thank you very much, Mr. President.
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I would like to really thank President Bush for giving us the opportunity to be here at the White House and to discuss matters of mutual interest to the United States and Lebanon, and matters that have to do with the developments that have been taking place in Lebanon. For the past over 16 or 18 months, Lebanon has been undergoing major changes. And Lebanon has really been committing itself that we want the change to happen in a democratic and a peaceful manner, but at the same time to really stay on course; that we are there to meet the expectations of the people to have a united, liberal, free country, and at the same time prosperous economy.
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So [those] are the matters that we have discussed with President Bush. And I really would like to seize this opportunity to thank President Bush and the United States for the support that it has been extending to Lebanon throughout the past periods.
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And with all the resolutions that were taken since the assassinations of Prime Minister Hariri. The United States has been of great support to Lebanon. I am really convinced that President Bush and the United States will stand beside Lebanon to have Lebanon stay as a free, democratic, united and sovereign state. And the United States is really of great importance in this regard, whether this can be done directly or indirectly.

So I would like once more to express our great thanks for President Bush and then the United States for this.
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BUSH: Thank you, sir. Appreciate you.
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SINIORA: Thank you very much.
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BUSH: Thanks for coming.

Source: Congressional Quarterly
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Personal Comments:

Yesterday, I had a discussion with Firas about Fouad Seniora's visit to the US.
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Firas pointed out two things. The first was the fact that Seniora was given a solid 2 hours with the president. This amount of time is a privilege that is given only to heads of states who "deserve it."
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Firas then pointed out a little nuance that was somewhat less satisfying: Salloukh was supposed to accompany Seniora in all of his meetings. Now, under normal circumstances, a foreign minister accompanying his Prime Minister to meetings with a foreign head of state, is not such a big deal. But in this case, Salloukh reminds me of the Political Commissars that the Communist Party used to impose on Officers of the Armed Forces to ensure their adherence to Party Doctrine.
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That is why it pleased me to see the following picture on the Lebanese Lobby website!



Hopefully Seniora won't get a public spanking from Nabih Berri in Parliament when he returns to Lebanon - as he did when he returned from the Dictators' League Conference a couple of months ago.

Ahmedenijad not as stupid as we think

Every time that maniac gives a speech declaring Iran's desire to "wipe Israel off the face of the Earth," he makes about a $100 million dollars a day for his country!!!

How?

Well... It just so happens that markets react to those speeches, and raise the price of crude oil by five dollars a barrel.

If I could make a hundred million dollars a day by saying something stupid, I'd be the happiest man on this planet!

I hate oil!

Please Satan! Help those stupid Americans and Europeans find an alternative to oil soon!

PLEASE!!!!