Freedom for Propagandists

It has been painful lately, at least for me, to see the black screen of Future TV lately. Not that i enjoy their news reporting and propagandist guests, but if we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.
Future TV should have been given a chance to air their material, even if they would have preferred to keep their staff inside at all times in such a dangerous situation. Closing down the stations is an act of aggression against free speech. There's no question about it.
But to be fair, one has to put things in context; Future TV never missed a chance to perform their own acts of aggression for the past 2-3 years, where just about anyone who does not share their political views was deliberately bombarded with misleading propaganda, character assassinations, false reporting and sometimes plain old libel and slander. Maybe, just maybe, in the darkness of their screens today, they are taking advantage of the dead-air time to evaluate their previous experience.

Updates with maps from Sursok blog.

..."Supporters of the Future Current have gunned down two Druze members of the opposition in Khalde, in the foothills of Beirut. Two were wounded. Reports are also coming in that gunfire was heard in the Druze town of Aley, in the mountains above Beirut. Futher reports are that Jumblat's militia, the PSP (Progressive Socialist Party), has handed strategic positions in the mountains over to the army."...

Rami El Amine, founding member of SUSTAIN (Stop U.S. Tax-funded Aid to Israel Now), Lebanese American with family members still in Lebanon, talks to Uprising Radio

Rami El Amine:
... The timing is what's crucial regarding the pro-US neoliberal government of Fouad Siniora's decisions. It's clear that the US is pushing them to begin to shut Hezbollah down. They chose this as a way to test Hezbollah with it.
... 2 things are happening, the government knows it days might be numbered, because of George Bush and his administration's support and how much support they get, they also know that if they don't do anything against Hezbollah, any new elections that might be held will certainly spawn a pro-opposition majority...

At least 14 people have been killed in the three days of violence.
Photo: Nasser Nasser/Associated Press

The End of the New Middle East by Nir Rosen
... The Americans thought that they could pick a proxy and get him to rule Lebanon. But Lebanon is too complicated for them, and they didn't know that no single group can rule Lebanon. The Americans along with their Saudi allies backed the creation of sectarian Sunni militias in Lebanon, some of whom were even trained in Jordan. Their ideology consisted of anti Shiite sectarianism. But these Sunni militiamen proved a complete failure, and America's proxies in Lebanon barely put up a fight, despite their strident anti Shiite rhetoric. Now it is clear that Beirut is firmly in the hands of Hizballah and nothing the Americans can do will dislodge or weaken this popular movement, just as they cannot weaken the Sadrists in Iraq or Hamas in Gaza...

Is This the Start of the Next Lebanese Civil War? by Andrew Lee Butters
...Just why the government chose this particular moment to move against Hizballah's infrastructure remains unclear. Hizballah, which fought Israel to a stand-still in the summer war of 2006, is much stronger and better organized than government forces, and is certain to win any confrontation. Still, Hizballah would have much to lose in an open civil war. Not only would the chaos distract them from the far more dangerous struggle with Israel, but it could also help radical Al-Qaeda affiliated Sunni jihadi groups infiltrate Lebanon...

Time Machine by Dr Rami Zurayq in Land and People
...There are signs that things might slip: One of the old Future TV's building , the one adjoining the Saudi embassy in Rawcheh, was set on fire today, allegedly by SSNP militants. It may be true that the building served as a barrack for Future Movement thugs. It is also true that over the past 3 years there has been tremendous tensions between the thugs in there and those at the SSNP central office, which is around the corner. But setting a building on fire, and especially a media-related one, was a pointless act of vandalism which reflects very badly on the opposition and its leadership. The same can be said for silencing Future TV by sabotaging its installations. There were also motorcades going around the streets today shooting in the air for no other purpose than showing off and celebrating the take over. This is not what Hizbullah did in the South when it kicked the Israelis out. In Beirut, the stakes are even higher.

Street Notes From the Hamra District by Franklin Lamb
...Jumblatt has not just been humiliated in the mountains but also in his Beirut residence at Clemenceau near AUB. When I drove by en route to Hamra Street I saw about 75 fighters outside his home. I was surprised to learn they were not Jumblatt's protectors but once more Hezbollah/Amal. "Maybe he will invite us to lunch. We have orders not to harm him." I was later to learn that the Army rescued Jumblatt around 11:30 am, and he is said to be rethinking his options. Hassan Nasrallah was tough on Jumblatt at his news conference yesterday and predicted that Jumblatt would switch sides yet again if Hezbollah would pay the price. The young men showed me some of the weapons they collected from what was said to be surrendering or fleeing Hariri mercenaries.

Word on the Street near Saad Hariri's house is that Geagea may attempt a coup and take the leadership of March 14 for a return of the Lebanese Forces and Kateib. This I find difficult to believe but during this period the rumors are flying like 20th floor broadcast confetti on a windy day!

The real birth pangs

Photo by (مروان طحطح)

A lot of literature will be spilled on the media market during the following weeks concerning the latest developments and experiences in Lebanon, and I'm sure it will range between conspiracy theories, war mongering, fear instigation and religious orgies of sectarian hate.
The elements of fear and anger have had much time to be nurtured and mixed together with a chemist's precision to make the current Molotov cocktail which is just about to burn a lot of fingertips.

Pro-Hariri media outlets and mouthpieces have spent a considerable amount of time during the last year to portray a Shiite-Iranian threat under every bed and in the minds of their receivers using a bombardment of propagandist rhetorics and not-so-subtle insinuations that rallied their Sunni constituency and practically shunned away every possible Shiite rapprochement for a considerable amount of time; not to mention their continuous provocations by openly accusing (on groundless terms of course) Hezbollah of assassination attempts and surveillance operations all around the country.
Pro-Hezbollah outlets and media machines didn't help at all with its continuous spray of conflicting messages of asking for true partnership while demonising the other guy with traitorous rhetorics.

Sure, nobody doubts this quasi-farmland called country has a lot of problems, most of which are irreparable structural defects from its inception but whatever Hezbollah and Hariri bin Saud are trying to impose of the streets of Beirut is certainly neither controllable nor on the right track to form a certain viable consensus.

Pro-Hariri cabinet issued what can be a declaration of war on Hezbollah by labeling its landline network as a "breach of national sovereignty" totally disregarding that such claims are certainly a "breach of national unity". They also stressed that these landlines (which Hezbollah considers as part of its resistance and essential to protect its leaders from US-Israeli assassination attempts) will be removed. It's also quite useful to remember that this same cabinet was formed on the basis of "protecting the resistance of Hezbollah and giving it a full carte-blanche to perform any resistance effort to free both land and prisoners. I wonder if there's anything left of this manifesto as of yesterday and what's left of Hariri-cabinet's credibility and representation to try to enforce their authority over the whole chessboard, which explains their resort to the Mufti Kabbani's highly sectarian tone as a last refuge and line of defense.

On their part, Hezbollah jumped on the sectarian bandwagon and refused ( on sectarian grounds) the Hariri cabinet's decision to remove the airport's head of security after Joumblat's hallucinations and acid trips of lucid dreams that burned every possible bridge between Hariri and Hezbollah.

Both Hezbollah and Hariri are both to blame for the current civil strife, although Saad Hariri (along with whoever supports him from Washington to Riyadh) takes the biggest part of the blame after showing his party's real face of militiamen, party offices stacked with weapons and blunt subservience to regional masters which basically makes him worse than whatever his mouthpieces accuse Hezbollah and the opposition of being.

But for the time being, all the above is going to be old news.
As of yesterday, frontlines have been drawn all over Beirut, the Beirut International Airport is closed, Hezbollah (rightly IMO) calls for the government's dissolution and the formation of a new national unity government that should prepare for a new parliamentary elections while Hariri & Co. (wrongly IMO) refuse anything even remotely related to those demands and clings to power under the false rhetorics of "building a state" and "empowering the state's sovereignty".

Both Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and Saad Hariri planned press conferences tonight.
Michel Aoun is very very silent, while Joumblat is carefully observing Rome consumating itself while a small smirk is hidden under his moustache, Geagea is obviously living in oblivion and Michel-consens-ational-Sleiman is helpless.

Stay tuned. Twister power-struggle games have just started.

إعلان حرب

Streets of Beirut, on the 7th of May 2008 (هيثم الموسوي)

خالد صاغية
عند الساعة الرابعة والنصف من فجر يوم الثلاثاء الواقع فيه السادس من أيّار عام 2008، خرج المواطن غازي العريضي وتلا أمام اللبنانيين بياناً. كان وجهه شاحباً، ولم يكن النعاس وحده سبب هذا الشحوب. كان يعلم، على الأرجح، أنّ ما كُلِّف بتلاوته ليس إلا إعلان حرب أهليّة.
قد يجد المرء، إن أراد، تسويغات عديدة لما صدر عن مجلس الوزراء من قرارات في تلك الليلة. وقد تأخذه سذاجته إلى حدّ ربطها ببناء دولة المؤسّسات، في اللحظة نفسها التي تعيش فيها الطوائف كافة حالة تقوقع وخوف من أخواتها. لكنّ هذه التسويغات لن تخفي حقيقة واحدة: إنّ من اتّخذ هذه القرارات، اتّخذ في الوقت عينه قراراً بإشعال البلاد.
والواقع أنّ مجلس الوزراء مكوّن جزئياً من مجموعة كومبارس لا خبرة لهم في الحقل السياسي، شاءت الصدفة التاريخية أن تضعهم في مناصب حسّاسة في لحظات عصيبة. أمّا الجزء الآخر، فمؤلّف من مندوبين لأمراء حرب أهليّة سابقين. نفهم تماماً أن ينفّذ المندوبون أوامر زعمائهم الذين ينتابهم الحنين للزمن الماضي، فيصرّون على اتّخاذ قرارات حربيّة. أمّا الآخرون، فليس واضحاً كيف يكملون انحدارهم بخفّة من «الأوادميّة» إلى الغباء، ومن الغباء البريء إلى الغباء المؤذي.
السلطة في يد هؤلاء «بتجرح». أمّا الدماء التي بدأت تسيل، فستجعل من الصعب عليهم النظر في المرآة ورؤية أنفسهم.

In May 2006, Noam and Carol Chomsky visited Lebanon for the first time—just two months before Israel unleashed a new military campaign against both Lebanon and Palestine. During their eight-day trip, they toured refugee camps and a former Israeli prison and torture compound; met with political leaders—including the pro-government coalition; and Noam conducted interviews and gave public lectures on U.S. imperialism and the imminent crises facing the Middle East

Inside Lebanon documents Noam and Carol Chomsky’s journey and situates it within the tragically altered context of Lebanon and Palestine before and after the war of 2006. Noam Chomsky’s essays provide the background and framework for understanding the role of U.S. politics, power, and policies in these conflicts by examining how the United States wages war and imposes world domination while presenting itself as the righteous protector of democracy. Ironically, U.S. efforts at imperial control generate conflict and crises within the region while undermining the very democracy they claim to promote.

Inside Lebanon also includes essays, diaries, and photographs by Irene L. Gendzier, Assaf Kfoury, Jennifer Loewenstein, Fawwaz Traboulsi, Hanady Salman, Rasha Salti, Mona el-Farra, Laila el-Haddad, and Carol Chomsky. Collectively, their contributions illuminate the region-wide conflict, of which Lebanon is only one piece. It serves as a record of events during the war, while linking conflicts on the ground to the global order.

Interesting read for all the Chomskiites out there and for anyone who attended his conference at AUB.

It also has a transcript of his interview with Marcel-silly-Ghanem. Here are some ground-breaking, earth shattering professional, informative and thought provoking questions he asked him during that interview:

MG: Professor Chomsky, are you a supporter of the Taliban regime?

MG: Professor Chomsky, do you support the Syrian regime?

MG: The neoconservatives use the medium of speech. In his speeches, George Bush vows to end tyranny, to spread freedom and justice, to strengthen democracy and to promote dignity and human rights. Professor Chomsky, it seems that you do not believe his promises. Why not? Are these principles not important?