Right after I arrived home from doing laundry and discovered that Nappo ate the ingredients of ALL OF OUR DINNER FOR THIS EVENING, I logged on to CNN. This article was interesting. In part:
The G-8 called on Israel "to exercise utmost restraint, seeking to avoid casualties among innocent civilians and damage to civilian infrastructure and to refrain from acts that would destabilize the Lebanese government."
Um, say what? Lebanon has a government?
Did the Glenlivet go out early during the G-8 summit?
These are times when LaMai wishes the Middle East could be a little more, um, Buddhist. Or as my friend might say, more "Jew-Bu." As in, "I have a nice Jew-Bu friend I'd like you to meet for a possible date. He's tall, dark and handsome..." But, I digress...
I send wishes of strength for peace in the face of provocation. That is true strength. Even if -- provocation takes the form of a young New York City Weimaraner.
5 comments:
I'm not sure what you mean.
Lebanon has a government. It's weak and shaky but since the Israeli withdrawal in 2000 & the Syrian withdrawal in 2005, it's been hobbling along & indeed, with the rise of anti-Syrian feeling in the country in the last few years, it's been moving towards a moderate, independent government. Now, the G8 is concerned that either Syria will move back in, giving Israel the reason to also move in, or v.v. - Israel will move in, giving Syria a reason to return. Either way, lose-lose for a sovereign nation.
Lebanon is not synonymous with Hizbollah & Lebanon does not control Hizbollah - as an article in the Guardian yesterday said - any more than Italy controls the Mafia, or the UK controls the IRA ... Certainly Hizbollah is hugely influenced by Syria and Iran but I think Lebanon's influence is limited.
There is one way out - a Palestinian state, which will take the wind out of the sails of the extremists. But that means territorial concessions on the part of Israel & Israel is apparently determined to take more, not give some away.
Restraint and peace in the face of provocation - well, that would be a nice change. And actually listening to the international community for a bit.
As for the weimeraner - what an opportunistic little lemon brain! Does he counter surf or has he mastered opening the cupboards? Smart dog! He was probably showing off to you how clever he is and how you don't need to worry about him because 'look mama, I can hunt too!'. You heard the one about how we must look to dogs when we come home with bags of groceries "whoa! my pack leader is SUCH a great hunter!"
The Lebanese government, as you've said, is shaky at best. I have friends in Lebanon who invite me there often. I have friends in Syria (in Aleppo), as well.
If people do not know that Lebanon does not equal Hezbollah, that is unfortunate. I am not certain that the best analogy is the Mafia in Italy -- but I do get what you mean. As you know, the majority of Lebanese are Christian, and Hezbollah's aims are so different from the sentiment of the average Lebanese citoyen.
I think the average Israeli citizen would like to see a change, and so would the average Palestinian. The problem is the people in *power* make it so difficult for everybody else.
But, of course, what am I talking about? We wouldn't have experience with unwanted governments with lopsided power in say, our country, would we? [insert cynical laughter here]
And yes, Nappo, the opportunistic little lemon brain, totally gets that I am the Mistress Pack Leader! I just hate when he steals from *my* day of hunting (at the supermarket)! He clearly felt bad, though, and didn't approach me for a good 3 hours after I reprimanded him on his bad bad deed.
So, it's a good thing you didn't take them up on their invitation this summer.....
Counterpunch has a very powerful commentary today:
http://counterpunch.org/christison07172006.html
I am not convinced that the ubiquitous 'average joe' citizen is fired up for change. I've seen first hand how animosities and hatreds and prejudices can be nurtured for generations, all in an otherwise nice, warm, friendly family. Yes, there are people who want to see positive change, who have some vision of a different world. But there are an awful lot of people who absorb constant messages about US and THEM and the THEM are 'animals' and I believe it's awfully hard to maintain an impassive civility and goodness when you're swimming in dreck all your life. Kind of surprising that they're not ALL maniacal terrorists, given the environment and history.
So, I'm feeling pessimistic. And you know the old saw about us getting the leaders we deserve.....
edit: the Lebanese majority is not Christian, but Muslim. Christians make up approx 39% of the population, and Muslims approx 59%.
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