The Syrian regime deserves the mess that it finds itself in: not only because it is a tyrannical regime that has harmed the Palestinian cause and smashed the revolutionary movement in Lebanon back in 1976, but it also installed Hariri Inc in Lebanon.

This passes as eloquence in the Daily Star: "Amin Gemayel has lost a son, but Lebanon has gained a father." And I gained a potato.

I only placed this link to irritate Lebaonese readers. Enjoy.

The largest and most outlandish estimate of the crowd in Lebanon was given by this Israeli reporter who claimed that the funeral was the biggest ever in history. I mean, I understand that the enthusiasm of Zionists for Gemayyel militia but come on. It was not bigger than 100,000 from what I understand, and even Hariri propaganda is claiming one million. And the funerals of Nasser and Khumayni were much bigger of course. And notice that the western media bias is always revealed in the coverage of mass demonstrations in Lebanon: not only in terms of the quality of the coverage, but also in the keen interest in providing estimates of the crowd. In the "victory rally" by Hizbullah weeks ago, Western media typically avoid giving estimates of crowd. They diligently do that for March 14th demonstrations. And Blanford among others find the the demonstrators more telegenic.

"But nothing became Gemayel like his courage yesterday as he told the vast mass of Lebanese in front of him that, yes, there would be a second revolution in this country which would end only when the pro-Syrian President had been removed. The knightly St George gave his name to the great Italianate basilica - yes, he is supposed to have slain the dragon in Beirut - but Amin Gemayel's bravery was one of the few moments of humanity on this brightly sunny, politically overcast, disturbing day." How brave is it to attack Lahhud in Lebanon? Half the country is doing, Mr. Fisk. Fisk is really ready to retire now. He described Walid Jumblat as "eloquent." And Nasib Lahhud is related to Emile Lahhud. And notice that he does not say one bad word about Jumblat, although he "bravely" mentions the murderous background of Samir Ja`ja`. Notice that not a single negative word is said about mini-Hariri. I am willing to buy a new watch as a retirement gift for Robert Fisk. And notice that unlike some other articles in Western newspaper, like Shadid in the Washington Post, Fisk does not even mention the presence of another side in Lebanon. He does not know. How could he? He is either having lunch in Quratim or dinner in Mukhtarah. And please don't compare Majda Rumi to Fayruz: nobody does. I know that the statement makes you sound native, but it is untrue.

"Her oldest daughter, Fatheya, said she decided to become a bomber because her grandson had been killed. "They [the Israelis] destroyed her house, they killed her grandson - my son," she told the Associated Press."

Why did `Amr Musa fly to Beirut? He let Iraq get devastated, and watched from a distance as Palestine suffers in silence. But the assassination of Pierre Gemayyel really moved him, I guess.

The Hijazi King of Jordan today called on the Bush administration to help push for peace in the Middle East. He urged the US government to locate PlayStation 3 for him. Today, he took 3 minutes away from his PlayStation 2 to drink a beverage.

During the demonstration today in Beirut, there were many signs with new logos of a the "second intifada" (I shudder to see the glorious Palestinian intifada name being tainted by the sectarian and financial war criminals of Lebanonesia). These were designed by Saatchi and Saatchi, and have been prepared in advance of (and in opposition to) the expected demonstrations by Hizbullah against the boo hoo hoo government ("democratically-elected" as Robert Fisk enthusiastically puts it--Fisk needs to know that the government in Lebanon is not "elected". It is nominated by the deputies, and officially designated by the president, and thus formed.). They were rolled out earlier, and they sounded as bland and silly as the slogans of the first round of Hummus revolution. Most are signed I love life, or Lebanon is the homeland of life. I should design new posters for the crowd. It will read: Get a life.

There is a strong elitist tendency in this article by Dima Wannus.

If you had doubts about the political role of Detliv Mehlis, this should put it to rest. So the man is back. He gave an interview on Al-Hurra TV (still watched by 3 people around the world), and he went on to elaborately discuss Lebanese political developments, and offered his strong support for the--you guessed it--Sanyurah government.

Nazik Hariri solves the Gemayyel crime. Here, she offers her theory of the assassination; she thinks that Gemayyel was targeted because he had "an innocent smile."

When Walid Jumblat addresses a crowd he sounds like Michael Richards addressing hecklers.

From today's demonstration in Beirut: Lebanonese demonstrators typically force their domestic servants to demonstrate. (thanks Nir who took the picture)

"a new survey published in the US Wednesday says that Israel is suffering from the worst public image among all countries of the world.

The study, called the National Brands Index, conducted by government advisor Simon Anholt and powered by global market intelligence solutions provider GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc.), shows that Israel is at the bottom of the list by a considerable margin in the public’s perception of its image."

Husam `Itani evaluates the March 14th rally.

"He did not object to satire, he said, but the spoofs “offended men of the church.”"

"NYT: A man who was caught taking a dirt bypass around this closed road near Jenin waited for Israeli soldiers’ permission to proceed. The wall protects the Shavei Shomron settlement."

"Palestinians wait to have their ID checked at an Israeli-monitored crossing on Road 60 at Hawara, one of many such checkpoints along the road."

Saudi media is not reporting this: that the crowd today in Beirut was much smaller than expected. I was not surprised: the Phalanges Party is a washed up party. It is a memory of the glory of Lebanese fascism.

The man to the right is Lebanese Minister of Tea, hospitality, and Ping Pong.

Who Killed Pierre Gemayyel (not that the matter is keeping me awake)? There are several questions about the assassinations of Pierre Gemayyel. If you review the list of the victims of the assassinations and assassination attempts over the last two years, you clearly come up with a list of people who--no matter what you thought or think of them--were most effective in actions and propaganda against the Syrian regime and its allies in Lebanon. Until the assassination attempt on Ilyas Murr, and now this one, all were clearly people who did a service to the anti-Syrian cause in Lebanon. Gemayyel was not a prominent figure; far from it. And the timing--if Syria or its were allies were behind it--was most beneficial for March 14th movement, and most inopportune for the opposition. The only thing that was significant about Gemayyel's background was his famous speech at a rally last year in which he talked about "quality versus quantity." That really angered many Muslims and others and that was similar to a speech that Jubran Tuwayni made in which he compared Shi`ites to sheep. But if these assassinations were perpetrated by people who wanted to exact revenge for perceived insulted and offenses, the execution of this assassination reveals a high degree of professionalism and effectiveness. So the question remains whether this was one of the same series of assassinations or a different one. The other thing that raised questions in my head was the text of the statement by a group that claimed responsibility for the assassination. The statement was drafted in the most awkward phraseology: it was written by somebody who was making an effort to sound--he/she was not sure--either an Islamic fundamentalist or an Arab nationalist or even a Syrian nationalist. The statement did not get much attention, but I read it more than once and it sounded more odd with each new reading. And then my friend Amer added another twist: he wondered whether the assassination had anything to do with Iraqi developments. Only two or three weeks ago, Amin Gemayyel was criticized for paying a surprise visit to Kurdistan where he met with Mas`ud Barazani. AANS reported that at the time.

It was revealed today that mini-Hariri and Pierre Gemayyel were really close friends. Amin Gemayyel disclosed that they used to spend time in long phone conversations. No information on the contents of the conversations, although it is widely known that both share a passion for Greek philosophy and calculus. We are not sure what happened to the friendship--or followership to put it more accurately, between mini-Hariri and `Azzuz--the favored son of King Fahd. In fact, when `Azzuz was an avid watcher of Baywatch, and he developed an obsession with Yasmeen Bleeth, it is said that mini-Hariri was the one who arranged for `Azzuz to meet Bleeth in LA, where he presented her with a $2 million gift. See how refined Arab dynasties are?

AlArabiya's Beirut correspondent, Rima Maktabi, is the daughter of a mil-level official of the Phalanges Party, Tawfiq Maktabi, who died during the civil war.

This is a revealing video of Bashir Gemayyel. It is one of his last speeches. It was taped but not intended for public release. The full text contains a lot of blatant sectarian agitation. This clip also contains some comical moments: here, he talks about why the "Lebanese civilization" is better than all civilizations, and why the Lebanese are "more gifted" and "smarter" than everybody else. He also denies that Lebanese are Arabs: "we don't have camels," he said. (thanks Nicolas)

On LBC-TV, Karim Pakraduni said this of Pierre Gemayyel: "He didn't like to read, or write. He just liked to talk." Well, it showed.

It is hilarious. Lebanonese think that occasional international attention to Lebanon and its affairs is a sign of some greatness of Lebanon and its people. It is in fact the reverse. Foreign intervention and attention to Lebanon is based on the premise that the Lebanese are naive and gullible and can be easily fooled and deceived. But please send whatever you can to Fu'ad Sanyurah. New York Times is really worried about him. I looked into my closet: I found an old t-shirt, which I will send to him. It has a picture of Karl Marx on it.

BBC Arabic on Lebanese blogging and the Gemayyel's assassination.

Send fruits and vegetables for Fu'ad Sanyurah. This is a bizarre editorial in the New York Times. I mean, the paper wants so bad to express support for Fu'ad Sanyurah, but did not know how to express it. Look at this: "The United States and the international community must now rally to support Prime Minister Fouad Siniora — with cash, security advisers, and anything that might help him and his government survive." What else should we wend him? Does he like snacks? How about new shoes? And then the paper offers a threat to Hizbullah: "Hezbollah must be told that it will be shunned if it tries to grab power through further violence or intimidation." Shunned? Hizbullah is not shunned already by the US? What does that mean, and why would the threat of shunning really influence Hizbullah? And then the writer seems to be thinking aloud: "We would urge Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to go immediately to Beirut, except we’re not sure she would be welcome after President Bush’s failure last summer to restrain Israel’s disastrous air war." So do you want her to be sent or not, o writer of the New York Times?

Nicholas Blanford here turns Misbah Al-Ahdab into a hero. Left unmentioned is that Ahdab is now even discredited among March 14th Movement after the fiasco (search the site below) in which he allegedly ordered his own bodyguard to shoot at his house in Tripoli to attract attention and sympathy. The bodyguard was later found dead in his cell. Blanford does not know any of this. He is busy writing quasi press releases for Hariri Inc. And notice what impresses Mr. Blanford: "Still, Ahdab, a multi-lingual businessman from a prominent Tripoli family." That says it all. After all; he once praised the looks of March 14th demonstrators. (thanks Manar)

""Homegrown bananas!" one vendor shouted."

"The number of civilians killed in Iraq reached a record monthly high of 3,709 in October, mostly a result of sectarian violence, according to a U.N. report released Wednesday." (Will the UN Security Council investigate their murder? Will the Pope, who was praying--whatever that means--for Pierre Gemayyel today--be praying for them too?)

Robert Fisk is now reduced to writing propaganda lines on Lebanon: "Israelis abused Siniora's democratic government..." This man is now unreadable on Lebanon. And notice his last why-can't-they-all-get-along line at the end. How insightful and original.

"Palestinian sources have claimed that Saudi Arabia has severed relations with Hamas in recent weeks, and the Saudi government is consequently refusing to meet with senior Hamas officials."

"UN okays Lebanon request to add Gemayel slaying to probe" (I request to add Bayt Hanun to probe)

"The assassination of Pierre Gemayel could not therefore have come at a more opportune moment for the March 14 alliance. Just two days before the planned start of mass public protests, the assassination halted the opposition's momentum."

Can somebody kindly make Saddam stop writing poems in his jail cell? Thanks.

What Western AND Arab media have not reported: like with every assassination in Lebanon, Syrian workers in Lebanon were subjected to physical and verbal abuse. Lebanese media are not permitted to report on that. One newspaper printed a picture of Lebanese Forces' thugs trying to stop a car full of Syrians.

Harakat Al-Yasar Ad-Dimuqrati promised to contribute three demonstrators to the demonstration today. They tried to send four, but they were not able to find a fourth supporter.

A Hizbullah official calls Walid Jumblat a "spotted snake."

Another sign of the genius of mini-Hariri. Jan `Aziz reveals that Sa`d Hariri wanted Pierre Gemayyel to be president of Lebanon.

The Hijazi King of Jordan: a rare moment away from his Playstation.

Tony Blair: distraught over the death of Pierre Gemayyel.

I was reading the statement by Harakat Al-Yasar Ad-Dimuqrati (a mere tool of Hariri Inc). What is Left about this movement, tell me? I know it is rather comical for a movement that has some 12 members (if that) to speak on behalf of its "masses." It also called right-wing Pierre Gemayyel "a promising man." In a statement, I call this movement "non-promising."

Walid Jumblat, brags that he can surf the internet. Today, he said that the elaph site is Syrian. It is in fact Saudi and is known for being the most anti-Syrian site there is. But Jumblat subscribes to the New York Review of Books. Is that not something?