Tag Archives: hezbollah

Lebanon Bans Iranian Movie “Green Days”

I honestly do not get Lebanon these days – or maybe I do and don’t want to admit that our newly formed government is as uptight and horrible as we thought it would be, but the Iranian movie “Green Days” has been banned from being screened in the country.

What is the movie about? The 2009 Iranian protests against Ahmadinejad.

The movie “Green Days” was directed by Hana Makhmalbaf, aged 22, daughter of Mohsen Makhamalbaf, who is close to Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, whose followers led the 2009 protests. A General Security personnel in Lebanon said the ban was fulfilled after a request from the Iranian minister in Lebanon.

Since when does a request by an ambassador actually get fulfilled in Lebanon? Especially if it’s something as silly as them asking to ban a movie that details the regime they represent in a hideous light? It’s nice to see Iran’s main allies in Lebanon looking after their love’s interests over here. After all, why should Lebanese be allowed to watch a movie that details Iranian protests? I think that’s something Khamenei banned, no? Therefore, we should not be allowed to watch it! What an abomination that would be to our souls and to the good of the glorious nation of Iran!

But wait! Isn’t Lebanon a mutlicultural country where the say of one group or sect shouldn’t apply to the rest of the people? You’d think Mr. Orange, carefully looking out for the “best interests of Christians”, would stand up against such an atrocity. You’d think the “best interest of Christians” would be them exposed to all the different cultures the world has to offer. Guess now we know who’s truly ruling the country, regardless of how many ministers they have in our awesome new government.

I don’t know about you but I shall be downloading this movie (along with subtitles) and making a few copies to distribute just to spite the ambassador and the holy Lebanese resistance whose only job these days, by the looks of it, is to ban movies. How does that work against Israel again?

Hassan Nasrallah… Why So Silent?

Anyone else wondering why the head of Hezbollah is abnormally silent these days regarding almost everything going on?

I mean, a week into the Egyptian revolution and we had already gotten a speech about the greatness Egypt was going through. And yet, a week into the Syrian revolution and the Hezbollah camp is more silent that a mute person.

This takes me back to a point I made earlier, about the hypocrisy of said party and leader. When things are going their way, it’s very easy for them to come on TV and issue a speech about it. But when their second most trusted ally in the region is under fire, the same arguments given to support what was going in Egypt and Tunisia and Bahrain suddenly go down the drain.

Aren’t the Syrian people deserving of life and freedom and everything that you said the Egyptian people deserved? Aren’t they deserving of democracy and a leader that doesn’t bash them left and right? Or is that only applicable when the leader is loyal to you?

Moreover, Al Manar TV, also known as Hezbollah’s TV, said yesterday that the March 14 camp might be behind the Syrian uprising.

Syrian TV said the protests are filmed in Tripoli, Lebanon and March 14 is behind them as well.

I have a few questions to ask:

1) Do you really think this makes sense?

2) Do you think that if it did make sense, the March 14 camp has the resources to do a whole uprising in Syria?

3) Do you think if the March 14 camp even had the resources, they’d be able to use them in Syria? They’re struggling to get themselves together in Lebanon, let alone a country that is as hostile to their existence as the Iceland volcano?

Too many questions… too little answers and one whole load of bull.

Bahrain… Stop Being A Drama Queen

Hassan Nasrallah came on TV a few days ago and, as usual, he started preaching (or the more accurate Lebanese term: ynazzer). During this much “awaited” sermon, he naturally commented on the Bahraini revolution, wondering whether the Bahraini events not getting enough attention is related to the protesters being Shiites. He also said Hezbollah would help the protesters.

As a result to that, Bahrain saw it fit to suspend its flights to Lebanon and ask its people to leave the country and refrain from visiting, citing potential threats to their safety.

Now I wonder, does the Bahraini government really think we care about where tourists are coming from? Does it really think we – even Hezbollah – have checkpoints to check foreign passports and then, if those passports are Bahraini, abduct them?

Does it even make sense for Hezbollah to do anything to harm the Shiite-majority community?

Sure, Nasrallah is a hypocrite. In his speech, he spoke about the importance of the revolutions going on everywhere… except Syria, simply because a revolution in Syria doesn’t work to his advantage. And yes, he is a man of big words and little action. But for the Kingdom of Bahrain to have the reaction it had to a few words he spoke about the events in their country is blowing things way out of proportions.

If anything, the Lebanese government should warn and ask us to refrain from visiting a troubled country like Bahrain, not the other way around.

Dear Bahrain, stop being such a drama queen… for your sake and ours.

 

Dear Hezbollah, I Am Not Israeli

While going back to my hometown today, I was surprised to see counter ads to the ones spread by the March 14 forces.

This is a picture I found online of one of those ads:

For those who can’t read Arabic, this reads as:

[The people want our arms surrendered]

And Israel wants our arms surrendered as well

The Islamic Resistance

The apparent meaning of this is quite clear: They want to make people notice that Lebanon’s mortal enemy *gasp* is supportive of the agenda that the protest on Sunday is adopting.

But if you think a little deeper about it, this is Hezbollah’s way of inferring that Israel might be behind this movement.

I hate to break Hezbollah’s bubble again, but Lebanese people wanting its arms to be surrendered sometimes goes beyond Israel’s existent wishes. Sure, Hezbollah being weaponless is inside Israel’s wishing scope, but the Lebanese people have gotten fed up with Hezbollah flaunting its arms left and right. This is a case of: If you got it, DO NOT flaunt it.

In addition to that, Hezbollah is also launching a counter-campaign on Facebook titled: “Mbala”, which is Lebanese for “Yes”. Yes for what? Let us see.

According to Hezbollah, we’re supposed to go down to the streets to support it and say yes to its arms because these arms have:

– returned our pride and glory,

– have liberated our land,

– have protected our families and us.

I would have gladly given those three points to them without even thinking twice about it had the date been March 11th 2001, a few months after South Lebanon was liberated from Israeli forces. However, 10 years later, where do we stand from this?

– Because of Hezbollah’s arms, I had to stay home for two weeks in 2008 because they decided to go into a near-civil strife rampage in Beirut, just because they felt like it.

– Because of Hezbollah, my family’s vote in the last parliamentary elections, against it and its allies, has basically been equated with junk. Why’s that? Because they decided on one Tuesday to send out its personnel, dressed out in black to the streets of Beirut, reminding everyone of the aforementioned point, basically telling everyone that we can do whatever we want whenever we want and there’s nothing you can do about it.

– Because of Hezbollah, our economic boom that started in late 2005 got reversed into a severe economic breakdown when Hezbollah iniated the 2006 war against Israel. Yes, Hezbollah was the main cause of that war and hiding from this fact will not change it.

So how did you, dear Hezbollah, protect me and my family since 2001? Against a war that you initiated? It was your obligation after all. Did you return my pride when you paraded around my university campus with your allies killing people left and right just because those people you killed decided to oppose you? And what land did you liberate since 2001? And do you honestly think you could have even liberated South Lebanon if Israel hadn’t been pushed into implementing U.N. Resolution 425?

As far as I’m concerned, all of this boils down to you and your arms becoming more or less useless. It’s the harsh truth, but it needs to be said. And you want people to come down on March 20th to support you? Is this your way of retaliating to those whose only reason of going down to the streets in 2 days is you attempting to suppress their voices?

Yes, we are going on March 13th. And if I hadn’t been 100% convinced, I am more than convinced now. Why’s that? Because the amount of hypocrisy in this country has become unsupportable and Hezbollah wears the hypocritical mantle with the best possible fashion.

They equate you with being a traitor or an Israeli-supporter whenever they feel threatened. And they’re a bunch of tyrants as much as Israel is. So to them we say, we are not Israelis. We are pure Lebanese, whose minds are only for Lebanon.

So on March 13th, let us all go down as a testimony of our belief that Lebanon will never prosper under a mandate of unlawful arms is unacceptable. Martyr’s Square will be our testimony on Sunday

March 14 - Ad

Open Letter to Hassan Nasrallah

Dear Mr. Nasrallah,

I was sort of surprised today to hear you defend the Egyptian revolution so adamantly. It is a revolution well deserved of all of our support, that’s for sure, but your fiery support was puzzling to me.

You see, Mr. Nasrallah, I fail to understand why you feel that you need to have a speech in support of the Egyptian revolution in the first place, when it’s not the first revolution in the area. Didn’t Tunisia have its own revolution, which was actually successful, a few weeks ago?

Second, I fail to understand why you need to include Israel as the center of your argument for the justification of an importance of a revolution. Shouldn’t the “poor and the free” be enough as cause? Shouldn’t the need for change be enough?

I understand that it is not in Israel’s best interest for change to happen in Egypt. After all, the Egyptian status quo is fine with Israel. But I’m sure that’s not what the Egyptians cared about when they went down in their millions to the streets.

Also Mr. Nasrallah, if you are so keen about defending the rights of the “poor and free”, how come you didn’t feel the need for a speech when “hundreds were being killed and thousands injured” during the Iranian protests in 2009? Weren’t those protesters also free and poor and wanting change? Or is it only relevant when it’s actually one that serves your best interests?

Dear Mr. Nasrallah, do not, if you may, lecture people about revolutions. You haven’t cared about our own need for change in Lebanon, obviously proclaimed by the majority of the people in 2005. On the contrary, you called for an anti-protest a few days earlier to thank those same people that were making us “poor” and suppressing our freedom. So for all matters and purposes, you are a hypocrit – just as many in your political side are – and I do not – nor should anyone – appreciate hypocrisy.

After all, isn’t Israel hypocritical as well?

Sincerely,

Confused Lebanese Citizen