LEBANONESQUE

Impressions, views, and steam-blowing by a lonesome cowboy.

Monday, March 03, 2008

The Little Government That Couldn’t or Wouldn’t


While we wait for a government, any government, who would defend the nation, uphold the law, uncover murderers, prosecute treason, and protect the citizen, here is the latest (Naharnet):

Citizens Urged to Refrain from Opening Fire to Celebrate Politicians' TV Appearances


Who is saying this? The INTERIOR MINISTRY said:

[T]he shooting "causes panic and inflicts casualties as well as damage to both public and private property."

OMG what’s next? A report from the Surgeon General of the Banana Republic stating that shooting bullets through your own head can be harmful?

I am surprised we are missing their usual stupid addendum that the practice is bad because it harms (yallah, all together now): the Palestinian and Arab cause and only helps Israel.

Saying that firing guns and RPGs is against the law and “we will throw your sorry ass in jail” is, I guess, not an option. Hey, your vid will be on youtube and no one will bother you. [UPDATE: video there]

We are the land of peace-and-love where

The ministry called on politicians to "cooperate" in this respect by asking their supporters to abstain from opening fire.

Will you please, pretty please with sugar on top, abide by the law? Is it any wonder no one has any respect for the state and it laws?

This is a natural place to start to assert the authority of the law. Who in his right mind would object to cracking down on these thugs (or football fans firing guns)? And yet Saniora and his government are busy boycotting the Paris book fair (where Israel is being honored) and summoning the US attaché to ask deep questions like: what is the 6th fleet doing in the Mediterranean?

Bravo ya 7mar!

posted by JoseyWales @ Monday, March 03, 2008  

11 Comments:

  • At 3/3/08, 10:05 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    That was my reaction EXACTLY. Refrain from firing??? Is it not against the law? Why the hell do they have 'firearm" licences?
    It would've been better had they just shut the f*&^ up.
    What a bunch of morons!

     

  • At 3/3/08, 11:01 AM, Blogger Ms Levantine said…

    I am sorry to disagree with this post:

    1- Lebanon is not a banana republic, as we do not produce any significant amount of bananas.

    2- Firing weapons is just a normal case of Ibtihaj. When I hear the words of wisdom of Hariri, Berri and Nasrallah, I feel like firing a nuclear weapon with a huge celebratory mushroom cloud. They are above and beyond awesome.

    3-For the record, the prime minister is called Seniora, not MachoHombre, so what do you expect?

    Forget about the rule of law in Lebanon, it is dead and burried.

    And yes, we are a bunch of morons.

    MM.

     

  • At 3/3/08, 1:46 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I commented on this same story today. What a joke. And what makes it even funnier(sadder) is when you couple it with the headline on Naharnet today, where Suleiman urges his officers to prepare for fending off an Israeli invasion of Lebanon to protect Syria.

    So, let me get this straight: The army which seems unable to arrest some idiots who fire RPGs to celebrate a TV interview is going to stand up to Israeli warplanes and tanks? Right....

     

  • At 3/4/08, 4:38 AM, Blogger Marillionlb said…

    Lebanon is indeed dead and awaiting to be burried. And when I think that many regard Suleiman as the Monkez, and that M14 know exactly what they are doing, and that M8 days are numbered.
    There isn't one single patriotic leader/politician in this contry.

     

  • At 3/6/08, 5:39 AM, Blogger Nemr said…

    I agree that it is pathetic that the government has to beg people to follow the law. But lets not pretend that this only a reflection of Saniora's government. This is Lebanon and has always been Lebanon. The government has always been weak as a result of the political division in the country. What do you think would happen if you go ahead and arrest someone's supporters for shooting in the air? Accusations start flying about political vendettas and favoritism.

    Lebanon is governed by chaos because despite the official central government we are a nation of za3amat. Every za3im expects to retain a measure of control in his "area" and is expected by his "supporters" to stand up for them. This is the root of the problem. Its a problem that Hezballah, Amal, Aoun, Hariri and Joumblatt all share in equal measure the blame for. But its also a problem that I am afraid is far bigger than any of them.

     

  • At 3/6/08, 7:28 AM, Blogger JoseyWales said…

    Yeah, the rule of law was on life support and is now dead, as is the country.

    Tigerguy,

    I know what you are saying (and leaving aside the times when this stuff is/was not tolerated by the Second Bureau, the PLO, the Syrians and Hezbo in their regions) what is your point?


    That we, people/NGOs/press/"loyal" opposition, should not criticize and DEMAND from the government to do its job?

     

  • At 3/6/08, 7:42 AM, Blogger Nemr said…

    Josey.. my point is not that we should not demand change. Only that we should understand what change requires. Changing this government will not change anything.. we need something more fundamental.. and that whatever we do it will take years.

    I happen to think that in the short term we have a choice between this kind of chaos and dictatorship. In the long run I am more optimistic. :)

     

  • At 3/6/08, 7:43 AM, Blogger Nemr said…

    I should add that I for one would rather have chaos over dictatorship.

    ;)

     

  • At 3/6/08, 10:06 AM, Blogger JoseyWales said…

    Tigermarks,

    I'll take chaos over dictatorship too.

    But how difficult can it be to stop these guys, with the backing of most people, without falling into dictatorship? Easy in my book, though near impossible for several Leb gvmnts.



    Saniora and

     

  • At 3/6/08, 4:11 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Tigermarks,

    Frankly, I don't care if "this has always been common practice". It has to stop at some point if we are to move forward. We can't complain about it and never do anything because we're afraid that such and such will complain about being persecuted.

    Frankly, it is high time EVERYONE get persecuted a little bit, so maybe they'll learn a thing or two about not always getting their way.

    Frankly, we need someone in charge who DOESN'T CARE that he's going to be accused of political vendettas. In the end, actions will speak louder than words, and if this ideal leader cracks down on people who fire in the air, in time, he'll target EVERY group that breaks the law, not just one. And the normal citizens will see that he is not just targeting one side over another.

    Instead, we have folks that are so scared of what others are going to think or say...

    Seriously, can you name one organization, government, corporation or entity of any sort where the CEO (or equivalent) never takes any action that might be perceived as negative for the better good of the company?
    I'd like to see how well a team does where the coach is afraid to bench crappy players because said crappy player is black and the blacks might get upset. Or a sinking company where the CEO is afraid to layoff the crappy employees because he's worried what the rest of the employees might think about him being "mean".

    Oh boohoo. Grow up already, people.

     

  • At 3/6/08, 5:13 PM, Blogger Nemr said…

    bv

    I do not disagree with your zero tolerance attitude. But I am only being realistic. Lets not forget that France went through more than a hundred years of chaos AND dictatorship before they were finally able to start calling their system a democracy. It takes time and patients and lots of set backs.

    What you are suggesting sounds a lot like the dictatorship scenario I was talking about. A tough hand approach.

    But I could be wrong.. In fact, I hope I am!

     

<< Home