Blogging Beirut

Friday, March 23rd 2007
Beirut, Lebanon

The past few months have seen Billboards around Lebanon plastered with Thank Yous to certain the Arab States who supported Lebanon in the wake of the Summer 2006 Israeli War on Lebanon.

Yesterday, ex US Ambassador to the United Nations [during war], John Bolton, said:

"Many of the Arab states did give private support to Israel."

tags: israeli war crimes, kuwait, saudi arabia, qatar, united arab emirates, dubai, 2006 war, jordan, oman, beirut, lebanon, hizballah, billboards, war support, advertisement

-finkployd- Purple News on BloggingBeirut.com

Introduction

1. The present report is submitted in response to the request of the Security Council, in its Statement by the President of 12 December 2006 (S/PRST/2006/52), “to report on a quarterly basis on the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006), notably on further progress made towards the achievement of a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution” This is the third report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701(2006). It follows the letter of 1 December 2006, which was a factual update on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) (S/2006/270), in particular on UNIFIL’s operations and other relevant UN activities. The present report provides a comprehensive assessment of the steps taken to implement resolution 1701 (2006),
2. I am pleased to report that the overall commitment by the Governments of Israel and Lebanon to Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) remains strong. I am also encouraged by the major strategic changes that have occurred in the area south of the Litani River, including the near full deployment of a strengthened UNIFIL together with the deployment of the Lebanese Army as well as the absence of any positions other than that or the LAF and UNIFIL along the Blue Line, However, this report is submitted against the background of an acute and continuing political crisis in Lebanon and mounting Israeli concerns about the unauthorized transfer of arms across the Lebanese- Syrian border. I am also concerned that there has not been greater progress on key issues, which are vital to the achievement of a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution, such as the Israeli captured soldiers and the Lebanese prisoners, the Shab’a Farms and the halting of Israeli overflights. I am also distressed by the continuing dangers posed to Lebanese citizens in the south of Lebanon due to the use of cluster bombs by the Israeli [military] during the 2006 conflict.

Summary

The Security Council, in resolution 1644 (2005) of 15 December 2005, requested the United Nations International Investigation Commission to report to the Council on its progress, including on the cooperation received from the Syrian authorities, every three months.
The attached report summarizes the progress made by the Commission in its investigative activities since the last report to the Council on 12 December 2006. During the reporting period, the Commission has remained focused on its primary objective in the investigation of the Hariri case and has provided technical assistance to the Lebanese authorities in 16 other cases including the assassination of Minister Pierre Gemayel and, most recently, the Ain Alaq bombings of February 2007.
In the Hariri case, the Commission has made progress in collecting new evidence and in expanding the forms of evidence collected. This has enabled the Commission to narrow its focus in a number of areas during the reporting period, particularly in relation to establishing the motive behind the execution of the crime.
The Commission continues to maintain a close working relationship with Lebanese authorities on all matters relevant to its mandate. The Commission also continues to receive responses to its requests to other Member States, including the Syrian Arab Republic. This cooperation remains an important component of the Commission’s work.
Since the last report, the political and security environment in and around Lebanon has remained unstable. The Commission continues to monitor the political situation in the region and its potential impact on its investigations and requirements for its security.
In light of the current and planned investigative activities, it is unlikely that the Commission will complete its work before its current mandate expires in June 2007. The Commission therefore welcomes the request for an extension of its mandate beyond this date.

Blend will be performing LIVE at NOVA (Sin el Fil)

Friday March 23rd, 2007

Blend Band Music and Vids <<< CLICK

tags: blend, band, nova, live, beirut, lebanon, sin el fil, march 2007

-finkployd- Blend Band on BloggingBeirut.com

(click here for Part 1)

So here we are waiting for the water to boil in -4 degrees weather…

In the meantime we discussed and reviewed our march, where we went wrong, how we could have done it better etc… I had a couple of avocados I had brought with me, to everyone’s amusement. Hey avocados are just as much food as tuna and corn (without lemon in the occurrence). Also it’s an energy rich food filled with all sorts of good oils and liposoluble vitamins, fiber and lutein etc etc I could go on but that’s another story.

Anyways two hours in we realize the water is nowhere close to boiling, we leave the burners on and go to bed…

Monday 12th of March 2007

The Foreign Ministry recalled Israel's ambassador to El Salvador, Tzuriel Refael, after he was found in the back yard of his residence naked, drunk, bound and gagged, it emerged on Monday.

According to reports, San Salvador policemen found Refael inebriated, with his hands tied, his mouth gagged with a rubber ball and carrying accessories that implied he had been involved in sexual activity. --Haaretz

tags: israel, israeli, ambassador, bondage, gagged, drunk, bound, naked, el salvador, tzuriel refael

-finkployd- Ils Sont Fou ces Israéliens

Seems a Lebanese Blogger accepted an invitation to Israel.

Although I commend him for his Courage, I doubt he realizes that there's a fine line between Courage and Stupidity.

For his sake, I hope nobody reveals his identity (currently known as 'M').

here's the article about his visit, from Haaretz

Twin cities
By Yoav Stern

On the first day of his stay in Tel Aviv, M., a Lebanese blogger, found himself on the promenade not far from Jaffa. "Jaffa was supposed to be ours, an Arab-Palestinian town. I thought to myself, 'Why the hell did I agree to come here?' but then I turned north toward the Tel Aviv port. I sat in a modern pub and had a glass of wine. There I felt at home," he said.

M. is a man in his twenties who was born in the United States, to where his parents had immigrated in the 1980s during the Lebanese civil war. He would visit his family every summer in Lebanon, and five years ago he decided to go and live in Beirut where he found work in the communications field. M. has been writing his blog, in English, for several years. He wrote live from the demonstrations following the murder of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri as well as during the recent war in Lebanon, and provided his readers with personal impressions of the atmosphere in Beirut.

He recently came to Israel for a visit of several weeks as the guest of the Burda Center for Innovative Communications at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev. During the visit, he promised to participate in writing a "good neighbors" blog (www.gnblog.com) in which Israeli and Arab bloggers participate, but his virtual connection with Israel began even before the war. M. examined the Israeli blogs in the wake of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's declarations in favor of wiping Israel off the map. He wrote about this to his Lebanese audience and got many responses from Israeli surfers. A virtual community of Israelis and Lebanese was created, but it disintegrated during the war. According to M., the community consisted mainly of Israelis with right-wing tendencies and of Anglophone origin, but after the war in Lebanon there was a change - Israelis for whom English was not a mother tongue began visiting the Lebanese blogs and responding to them. Among the regular visitors one can find, for example, "Amir from Tel Aviv", "Yohai" and others.

During his visit to Israel, M. met up with many of his virtual friends and foes. He says most of them are from the political extremes - he met many more Jewish supporters of Hadash or Yisrael Beiteinu than members of the Labor party or Kadima. He mulled over many times in his mind whether to come to Israel. For some of his readers, particularly the Shiites, a visit to Israel implies loss of legitimation and credibility. But M. was curious and decided to accept the invitation.

So how does Israel seem in the eyes of a Lebanese? M. says he was amazed mainly by the poverty he encountered in Israel. "You have to understand, in my imagination Israel appeared to be like Jouniya [an affluent town north of Beirut - YS]. I didn't imagine there was any poverty here at all, that there were beggars at the intersections or the Western Wall. In Lebanon there is no such thing; there you can see Mercedes and Lamborghinis on the roads. There is no doubt that the Lebanese perceive Israel differently from how the Israelis see themselves. The Israelis think everyone wants to attack them and that they are weak, while the Lebanese believe that Israel is stronger than it actually is."

M. himself is a Christian, but it takes time to get information on this from him. It is not accepted practice in Lebanon to ask someone so direct a question about so sensitive a subject despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that one's communal affinity plays so large a role in Lebanese society. "There is a different way to know," he says. "First you ask about the family name, or the parents' names. Most of the names are clear and give away the ethnic affiliation, but if that doesn't help, you ask the person where he comes from. There are very few cases where you are left without an answer."

These days M. is busy writing in his blog about the tense situation in Lebanon, about the growing fears of the man in the street, about the suspicions and the emigration of young people of all ethnic origins. He recently wrote: "My work requires me to travel abroad frequently, and every time I return to Lebanon I find fewer and fewer friends are still here." Nevertheless, he says, Beirut is still full of places of entertainment, restaurants and coffee shops, and he says it is very similar to Tel Aviv. "The proximity to the sea and the openness of people in Tel Aviv certainly remind me of the atmosphere in Beirut," he says, "the behavior of the Tel Avivians, too. But when I went into a pub here and a friend said to me that everyone sitting there had probably taken part in the last war in Lebanon, I felt a chill go over me."

tags: israel, lebanon, lebanese, haaretz, tel aviv, beirut, israel war, lebanon war, burda center, ben-gurion university, negev

-finkployd- Courage and Stupidity on BloggingBeirut.com

Expedition to 2ornet El Saoudah
(the black horn or summit, the highest summit in the whole of the middle east and north africa).
Expedition carried out by the Speleoclub du Liban
(4 members from the main branch, and 5 from the northern branch)
Planning by Isam Sbat
(northern branch of the Speleoclub du Liban)

Date: saturday the 24'th 9 am to sunday the 25'th of february at 1 pm
Trip: Begin at 2800m altitude, up to 3088m, then back down to 1000m altitude in sir el dennieh.

Weather: Clear skies day one, snowstorm on day two down to 1500 meters, and rain below
Equipment: Snow racquets, sleeping bags, quickcovers (thermal blankets), high energy content foods and drinks (dried fruit and nuts, chocolates red bull milk) water (4l per person), tents, thermally isolating clothes, various foodstuffs (tuna corn spaghetti tea), headlamps handheld lamps. Maps obtained from the army, laminated for waterproofing, compasses, GPS navigation systems, Camera and camera equipment. A book (Mon Dieu, Pourquoi? By the late Abbe Pierre).
On average 15 Kilos of weight per person.









We started out in Beirut at 6:30 am in order to rendez vous with the team members from the north at the base of the cedars ski slopes at 9. We were ready to go by 9:30.
At first, the army (who operate a ski lift at the cedars ski resort) was hesitant to let us go, as this is obviously a risky endeavour, especially that we would not be coming back untill the following day, and that we would end the trip at a location other than that of departure, so there would be no way for the army to verify that we made it back safely. So we avoided disclosing the full extent of the plan. They eventually let us go.
At the top, we put on our snow racquets, and basically that's when we started having problems: