I don’t have much to say or add. Hope this whole thing ends soon.

Thought this image was cool.

It’s been a week.

Rampurple:
Over 200 people dead and over 450 people wounded in Lebanon.
24 people dead and over 300 wounded in Israel.
How much longer?

Sabbah’s Blog

Dear Lebanese/Palestinian/Arab/Muslim/Christians - Kids,
Die with love.
Yours,
Israeli Kids

Hate, disgust, extreme…. I don’t know what word can describe these photos.
And they say that we are teaching our kids hate to Israelis!
Thank you, Israel kids, we received your gifts.

Tololy’s Box
The war in Lebanon is a bitter wake-up call to moderate thinkers. It is pushing many of them to wonder if the word peace they strongly believed in exists in the Israeli language beyond “shalom”, the letters of the word.
I can’t blame them. You cannot lecture about human rights and democracy then support Israel by saying it is defending itself and expect the minds and hearts of Arabs and Muslims to OK that and move on. What about Lebanon? You go silent and grant more time, to perfect the murder.

Justice for All
“رد فعل اسرائيل غاشم وظالم واجرامي ووحشي وغير مبرر..ولايمكن ان يكون رد فعل اسر جندينن هوتدمير دولة كاملة
وبالتالي اسرائيل باغية ومعتدية بلا شك وهي الان تستهدف المدنيين والبنية التحتية
4. يجب ان تعي اسرائيل ان قهرها للشعب الفلسطيني جزء لا يتجزأ من المشكلة اصلا ..وان حل كل هذه الماسي يبدا من الاصل وليس بترقيع الحلول”

Amarji
Confrontation with Israel is actually a win-win development as far as Arab regimes are concerned. For, not only will it serve to divert attention from the country’s internal problems and the illegitimacy of the ruling regimes, their authoritarianism and their corruption, but the inevitable military defeat, which could always be justified as having taken place due to the international support of Israel vis-à-vis its hapless Arab victim, and which always provides an opportunity for the Arab leaders involved to take a swipe at their counterparts for failing to support them, will provide the ruling elite with a golden opportunity to fill up their coffers with the inevitable reconstruction expenditures and contracts.

From Beirut to the Beltway:
13 people from two different families died under the rubble of their houses in the village of Aitaroun. At least a dozen Lebanese soldiers who were never given the chance to defend their country died under the rubble of their barracks. (Source: Aljazeera TV) Civilian death toll so far: 217.

Lawrence of Cyberia:
If Israel wants a negotiated settlement, it is difficult to understand why it consistently chooses escalation over de-escalation and deliberately undermines the very people it must negotiate with. But once you understand that Israel does not accept, and never has accepted, the possibility of a negotiated two state solution, but believes itself strong enough to impose (and maintain) by force borders which will leave it in perpetual dispute with its neighbours, it becomes perfectly logical that Israel should repeatedly pursue policies that destroy any prospect of a compromise peace.

Kabob Fest:
Of course poor, helpless Lebanese Government was made into an American “New Best Friend” as it quarreled with Syria early last year. Now it is being expected to accept the destruction of its infrastructure by Israel, the oppression of its population, the invasion of its sovereignty, and the collective punishment of its citizens. All to allow Israel, the other American “Best Friend” to go after the “Baddies.”

Lebanese Political Journal:
I also knew I would have to leave Lebanon this summer. Leaving your family and friends for good is one thing- leaving your family and friends for good like this is something else. And the worst part of it is that you feel guilty- I feel guilty that I’m lucky enough to be able to leave and start my life in a safe and booming country, while my friends, neighbors, colleagues, and family have to live through this. Is the true Lebanese the one that is born, lives, and dies on his/ her soil? I tell myself that I need to travel because someone has to come help reconstruct Lebanon later on…. Half of me is being torn out of here. Ironically, it is also a half moon tonight.

Breaking news: Israeli fighter jets have bombed a residential neighborhood in Tyre near a highscool. LBC’s correspondent in the city described a state of chaos, and bodies lying everywhere. He estimated tens may have been killed.

From Beirut to the Beltway:
The United States and Israel will not end their bloody campaign in Lebanon unless the Lebanese government takes on Iran and Syria. That’s, in essence, what can be concluded from statements by Rice today, and from Israel’s refusal to enter into negotiations or observe a cease-fire.
It defies logic to see the US and Israel to do what they couldn’t do in Iraq and at home respectively. Lebanon has just emerged from decades of Syrian occupation, and is rebuilding its security services with US help. The US has been helping Lebanon in its struggle against Syrian interference. We lost a beloved prime minister and brilliant journalists and intellectuals in this fight. The Hariri investigation, supported by the US, had many Lebanese hoping justice can finally prevail in our country.

Justice for All:
بغض النظر عن وجهة نظري في كون حزب الله بدأ حربا بلا اذن من الشعب اللبناني ام لا او في
عواطفي الطبيعية الشامته في كل يهودي يموت او مبني اسرائيلي يدمر
بالتاكيد ما تصنعه اسرائيل في لبنان هو افتراء وظلم شديدين ويجب ان يقف …يجب ان نقف مع اللبنانيين مع وقف العدوان لان هذا هو الاولوية الاولي الان
هو وقف التدمير
ايف اللبنانية دعت الي المشاركة في تصويت علي السي ان ان ..محتوي السؤال
هل ما تقوم به اسرائل الان من قصف وتدمير مبرر ام غير مبرر؟

Sabbah’s Blog:
THE REAL aim is to change the regime in Lebanon and to install a puppet government. That was the aim of Ariel Sharon’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982. It failed. But Sharon and his pupils in the military and political leadership have never really given up on it.

Kabob Fest:
Ultimately, these are sad days for everyone who is dying and living in fear, whether they be in Palestine, Lebanon or Israel. On a related note, I am finding little sympathy for any of the powers in the region, be they the Israeli or Lebanese governments or non-democratic, non-representative groups like Hamas or Hizbullah.

من أجل التغيير:
للمرة الأولى في تاريخ المواجهات العربية-الإسرائيلية ينقسم العالم العربي على نفسه إزاء التطورات العسكرية والسياسية، فالشارع العربي يطالب بتأييد غير محدود لحزب الله والمقاومة ويتهم النظام العربي الرسمي بالتخاذل والخيانة. وفي المقابل يعرف النظام العربي أن حزب الله خاض مغامرة مستقلة جر معها الدولة اللبنانية والشعب اللبناني إلى شفير الهاوية وأطلق الوحش الإسرائيلي ليدك الشعب اللبناني والبنية التحتية ممارسا سلوكياته النازية الإجرامية، ولكن النظام العربي عاجز عن تقديم المساعدة للبنان ولا يستطيع الإصطفاف وراء مغامرة حزب الله المدعومة بالمحور الإيراني-السوري الذي يخوض حربا بالوكالة ودون خسائر ذاتية من خلال الساحة اللبنانية

Nadz Online:
My main anger here is directed at Nasrallah and his “party of God.” His loyalty does not lie with Lebanon or its people - he’s a dancing monkey for Syria and Iran, who seem to prefer letting other countries fight their wars for them. Makes you wonder why Israel won’t go after them directly. Perhaps the fear of making this conflict a bigger, regional one with higher stakes.

Dubai Sunshine:
My thoughts tonight are with my aunts and cousins in Haifa, Nazareth and Acre…They are stuck in shelters and they are scared.
My thoughts tonight are with those poor, innocent souls, whose lives ended in vain. Civilians, children, families, grandparents, husbands, wives, sons and daughters….haram……ya haram….

Mahmood’s Den:
I think Israel proved its superiority now. In 6 days it’s destroyed almost all the important infrastructure of the country and most if not all tourists have left or are leaving the country. Their economy is destroyed and there is no Hariri to resurrect it.

Mysterious Eve:
الغارات البارحة تجاوزت الثّلاثين. أتقلّب على سريري. يضنيني العدّ. يكاد تقلّبي ينتظم على وقع الدّوي المتكرّر. لوهلةٍ، أخال أنّني لم أعد أنتفض على هديرها. هي أربع ليالٍ مضت؛ أربع ليالٍ وأنا لا أريد أن أنام، والنّوم بدوره لا يريدني؛ أربع ليالٍ وصوت المؤذّن عند الفجر يجدني يقظة… حين يختلط صوته بصوت سهر الضّاحية القريبة، وضجيج أفكاري، يجلس النّوم على حافّة سريري، ونروح نتسامر إلى ما تبقى من ساعات الصّباح…

The Damascene Blog:
srael’s war is with Lebanon’s civilians, not Hizbollah. Nearly every person killed has been a civilian. Power stations, bridges and petrol stations have been targeted. Israel has warned residents to get out of certain villages, but bombed roads to make it difficult - and refugee convoys have been picked out for deadly air raids.

Silly Bahraini Girl:
What is happening in Palestine and Lebanon is enough for every Arab to hang his head in shame! And let’s not confine this feeling of shame and humilation to Arabs alone..for as we all know..we aren’t fully responsible for our fate .. for weak people like us ruled by cowards have no say in their destiny.

The latest from the blogs on toot in regards to the Lebanese crisis:

Lebanese Political Journal:
Israel just dropped fliers on the American University of Beirut campus and in the surrounding neighborhood.
The fliers are in English and say something to the extent of:
“The Lebanese people protect Hezbollah and will face consequences. Please, get out of Beirut.”

Big Pharaoh:
I can see pigs flying. The conference of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo are not, as usual, arguing over Israel, they’re discussing the legitimacy of Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia is leading the camp of ministers criticizing Hezbollah. Supporting his stance were representatives of Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, the Palestinian Authority, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, delegates said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. The Palestinian Authority is taking a wise decision here. I think the guy representing the PA at the Arab League is a Fatah and not Hamas member.

Mysterious Eve:
ما بقى عندي قوّة اتصنّع الأمل… خلص، هالمرّة يمكن خلص…

Hmoud Studio:
زيزي عبد الرحمن الراشد.. تخيل مثلاً أن إبنك أخطأ وضرب إبن الجيران الأكبر منه حجمًا وقوةً.. ثم بدأ إبن الجيران بضرب إبنك ضربًا مبرحًا.. هل تبقى تنظر إليه وتقول “يستهال” يا منافق يا عمالي..
ماهذا الذي تكتبه أنت ومن معك في الشرق الأوسط وغيرها من الجرائد العمالية.. أتدركون حجم ما قد تفسدونه على الشعوب العربية من همة قد تغير أمورًا كثيرة.. أنت تنظر إلى الألم الذي أصيب به لبنان من جراء حادثة الاختطاف وتقول لو لم يكن الاختطاف لما حدث ما حدث.. وماذا بعد.. نترك إسرائيل تقوم بمسح لبنان من على الوجود.. والله إنك لغبي وأغبى من الغباء..

My Stupid Corner:
It’s not Hizbulla anymore, its not Lebanon,
Its a full scale Middle East War.
This will go down in History as the 2006 War.
I’m checking the news on every second, waiting for when these bastards will start hitting syria, and how we can response, if we do can.
I cant imagine Damascus being bombed, its not an image I can take, its not a feeling that I can bear.

Rantings of a Sandmonkey:
Dear IDF,
YOU ARE MORONS!
When Hezbollah did what they did and kidnapped your soldiers, a golden opprutunity presented itself to you of the kind that didn’t present itself since Black September 1970, when You came to the aid of King Hussein when the syrians sent tanks into Jordan to help the PLO’s attempted coup. They gave you a chance of making a friend out of Lebanon, and now you have f***d that up royally. Good Job.

Beirut Spring:
Mr Seniora however did not explicitly say: Hezbollah should be disarmed. He said instead: The Government will control the entirety of the Lebanese Territory and decide on war and peace matters.
Hezbollah hasn’t responded yet, but my hunch is that it will snub Seniora’s proposal by escalating more. Knowing Hezbollah, I guess Nassrallah might make a “stop being a chicken, we will not surrender” speech, and maybe launch a little something to Tel Aviv.

Sabbah’s Blog:
هل نحن بحاجة لقتل المزيد من الإسرائيليين؟ وهل هم بحاجة لقتل مزيد من العرب؟
وهل “سينضحك علينا (عليكم) مرة أخرى؟”
يا عالم، ليس عملية السلام هي التي ماتت فقط، بل، ما لا يدركه الإخوان في الجامعة أن الجامعة العربية هي التي ماتت.”
على كل، المقاومة لم تنتظر أي دعم من الجامعة، ولن تنتظر، ولكن المقاومة صمدت وستصمد بدعم الشعوب الحرة.

Abu Aardvark:
A meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers at the Arab League just reportedly officially declared the death of the peace process with Israel. First reaction: the what? Second reaction: you think?

The bloggers are still talking:

From Beirut to the Beltway:
“Nasrallah is mad, arrogant and is gambling away the country. The Israeli “response” is criminal, disproportionate and is basically doing the bidding of Syria and Iran.
As for the Bush administration, what a shame. They have just allowed their mad ally destroy Lebanon’s potential to become a thriving democracy.”

Rants and Rambles:
How is it that an entire country is being brought down to the knees and the world is silent? How is it that years of work and toil and sweat and billions of dollars spent on rebuilding Beirut and its Lebanon, all go down the drain in a mere 24 hours of bombs and shelling?
How is that war has broken out so easily and still we continue?

Rampurple:
“It tears me apart to see Lebanon being torn up once again and it scares me to even think that Lebanon may return to it’s ugly years. Lebanon had just started to bloom and people were starting to feel secure. People almost forgot what it’s like to wake up one day and witness your plans being torn away. People almost forgot what it feels like to continuously worry if a loved one will return home today, or how your life could only be a second longer than it is now.”

Lebanese Political Journal:
“If Israel’s bombing doesn’t stop now, they will only further empower Hezbollah. If any Lebanese politician rises up against Hezbollah, that means civil war. It means that politician will be a target for assassination by Syrian agents. It means that whatever community does rise up against Hezbollah will be massacred because Hezbollah has all the weapons. The other militias were disarmed. Not even the Lebanese military could combat Hezbollah.”

Body on the Line:
I am so sorried about the people in Ghaza and Lebanon. I’ve been glued to Al Manar and Al Jazeera tv as much as possible or checking the news on the internet. I am appalled by the devastation the Israeli Occupation Forces are causing in the north and the south.

2:48 AM

The screenshot above is from the CNN main page. The area which I have highlighted in yellow is where they mention an Israeli woman and her grandson got killed and they have it as an important point. Yet they don’t mention the fact that over 60 people in Lebanon (including 2 Kuwaitis) have also been killed. I don’t mind CNN being biased but they shouldn’t make it that obvious…