Much of the clashes in Beirut are concentrated in the neighborhood where I grew up: the area between Barbur and Nuwayri. My mother has now moved to Ras Beirut. When I watch live footage I cringe: the scenes and sound bring back some horrific memories of civil war. I told a friend yesterday: at least in our days there was one side (the Lebanese National Movement) which was largely secular, leftist, and aligned with the Palestinian revolution. But as bothersome as the sounds of explosions and firearms, are the sight of clerical councils of the three largest sects. I hate it when they meet, and I hate it when they issue those bombastic statement. And why is Terje Roed Larsen not declared a persona non grata all over the region? The answer is because the governments of the region are all run by the likes of `Abdus-Sattar Abu Risha. But AlJazeera's Khalid Dawud gave a fine critique of the statement by that Larsen (a mere Zionist fanatic) before the UN Security Council.