Support Free Speech in Lebanon

Beirut Spring: "Support Free Speech in Lebanon" - Hap Tip: Atlas Shrugs (includes video material)

Please spread the word: The real target of Hezbollah’s vicious campaign is free media in Lebanon. Hidden under the coverage of explosions, smoke and gunmen roaming Beirut is the real story: Hezbollah and its backers in Syria and Iran can’t stand any voice that freely express a different point of view.

The guns were dispatched to silence the voice. All over Lebanon, in Beirut, In Tripoli, in Saida, and in Bekaa, Iranian and Syrian allies are targeting the media organizations that are critical of their regimes. This is an orchestrated, pre-planned campaign that includes dismantling hardware, destroying archives and intimidating Journalists.

Regardless of where we stand politically, we have to make it clear to the world that we will not accept tampering with the free exchange of ideas, the main foundation of any democracy.

Please do everything you can to spread the word and be part of this:

Bloggers and Website owners: Please include one of the (...) >>>

Regular folks and activists:

1- The above vertical banner will make a great facebook profile picture (please also link to this post)

2- You can send an email with the text below to politicians, newspapers and anyone you know who might have access to international media. (...) >>>


Beirut Spring: "So, What Can We Learn From What Happened?"

Pundits are starting to analyze the meaning of what happened in Lebanon. First, here’s my absolute favorite metaphor of the situation, courtesy of Hot Air:

…The government [was] temporarily brought to its knees to remind it who’s boss. Think of it as a visit from mafia goons to some poor bastard who’s late in repaying his debt to a loan shark — they broke a couple of fingers this time to let him know they can break his neck if he doesn’t play ball.

So, what lessons can the West learn from what happened in Lebanon? Noah Pollak in Contentions suggests an answer:

What does the crisis in Lebanon teach us about Hezbollah? It teaches us the same lesson we learned from Hamas when it took Gaza: Islamic supremacist groups, despite their claims to the contrary, cannot be integrated into states or democratic political systems. […] The Hezbollah rampage in Lebanon that we are witnessing should make it obvious to any sentient observer that Hezbollah’s claims to democratic political legitimacy have always been intended only to manipulate the credulous. (...) >>>

- Filed on Articles in "Levantine Intricate Tricks" -