Israel concedes defeat in Second Lebanon War

Olmert would prefer to close the chapter on the Lebanon file once and for all, but this week the Winograd Report slapped the PM with the conclusion he had tried to avoid ... that Israel didn't win the 2006 war.

Politically, the judge arrived at a sound and accurate conclusion. Israel failed in its objectives to deliver a serious blow to Hizballah, instead only increasing the power and resolve of the Shi'ite group.

There is an aspect to this war (a common aspect among wars in general), however, that has been notably neglected by both sides ... the humanitarian aspect. This war epitomised the sad nature of humanity, that we would place political and economic agendas above sacred human life.

Indeed, I can admit I am not innocent of this, and nor is this new to human kind (let's not be naive). Living outside of the region for most of my time, I get caught up in the geo-political, strategic games, ignoring the fact that there are millions of people who's livelihood is regrettably caught up in this mess.

But when I found myself trapped in Lebanon during the 2006 war, suddenly all of the geo-politics, ideologies and divisions meant nothing in the light of the loss of human life. Everything man created, from cars to religions, could not compare in priority to the life of a human being. Over 1200 civilians, overwhelmingly Lebanese, lost their lives. That is nothing to cheer about.

Whilst Israel and Hizballah weigh up the political consequences of the 2006 war, I lament the costly human consequences of another needless war.

AP article below on Winograd Report:

By JOSEF FEDERMAN

JERUSALEM (AP) — The head of the panel investigating Israel's 2006 Lebanon conflict said Wednesday that the war ended without victory and the army did not provide an effective response to Hezbollah rocket fire.

Eliyahu Winograd, the retired judge who led the investigation, told a packed auditorium in Jerusalem investigators found "failures and shortcomings" in the country's political and military leadership during the conflict.

Nevertheless, both Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his defense minister at the time, Amir Peretz, acted in "what they thought at the time was Israel's interest," he concluded.

"The overall image of the war was a result of a mixture of flawed conduct of the political and military leadership ... of flawed performance by the military, especially the ground forces, and of deficient Israeli preparedness," Winograd said. "We found serious failings and flaws in the lack of strategic thinking and planning."

The highly anticipated report, issued after a 16-month investigation, stopped short of holding Olmert personally responsible for the war's failures. That was a small boost as the prime minister moves forward with peace talks with the Palestinians.

A harsh indictment could have threatened his government and his stated goal of reaching a peace agreement this year. Olmert aides acknowledged they were relieved.

Winograd said the committee had decided not to assign personal blame for the war's shortcomings, preferring instead to search for ways to prevent similar mistakes in the future.

"It should be stressed that the fact we refrained from imposing personal responsibility does not imply that no such responsibility exists," he said.

Winograd said a last-minute ground offensive in Lebanon failed because it did not improve Israel's position ahead of a cease-fire and added the army was not prepared for that battle.

More than 30 Israeli soldiers were killed in that offensive launched shortly before a U.N.-brokered truce went into effect. Olmert had come under severe criticism for ordering the battle, despite his contention that the offensive improved Israel's position before the cease-fire.

Officials in Olmert's office said they were optimistic after a preliminary glimpse of the 629-page report. Olmert's spokesman, Jacob Galanty, was quoted by Israel TV as saying the prime minister's office was "breathing a sigh of relief."

Olmert's office said he had begun reading the report and would carefully study its conclusions.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hussein Haj Hassan told The Associated Press that the report underlined the Islamic militant group's victory.

"The Winograd report is an acknowledgment of Israel's responsibility for the war and its defeat," he said.

The war erupted on July 12, 2006, when Hezbollah guerrillas crossed into Israel, killing three Israeli soldiers and capturing two who have not been seen or heard from since.

Olmert entered the war with broad support from the Israeli public. But his popularity plunged after the campaign failed to achieve his two declared goals — winning the soldiers' release and crushing Hezbollah.

Despite a heavy Israeli aerial campaign, the guerrilla group rained nearly 4,000 rockets on northern Israel. Israeli reservists returning from the battlefield complained of poor training and a lack of ammunition and key supplies.

Between 1,035 and 1,191 Lebanese civilians and combatants were killed in the war, as were 119 Israeli soldiers and 40 civilians, according to official figures from the two sides.

Most of the army's wartime commanders, including the chief of staff and defense minister at the time, have already resigned so the big question about the report was how Olmert would fare.

A harsh interim report released in April by the panel accused the prime minister of "severe failures" and hasty decisions at the beginning of the war. Wednesday's report dealt with the war's final 28 days.

Olmert was able to beat back calls for his resignation after the interim report.

Opposition lawmakers, both from dovish supporters of peace talks to hardline critics, reiterated calls for Olmert to resign.

"The report paints a very dark picture of Israel and what happened in the army and the government and what happened between the army and the government," said Yossi Beilin, a prominent dovish lawmaker. "This should not have happened, and the man who is responsible cannot continue in his job."

Olmert has repeatedly said he would not step down.

Fairuz defies March 14, electrifies Damascus

Ignoring calls from Lebanon's anti-Syrian politicians to boycott Damascus, Fairuz returned to Syria after two decades and brought the crowd to life.

The drama caused by March 14 has only backfired and further hurt their ailing image. We cannot prevent art, let alone the woman that sits atop arts in the Arab world, from singing to the millions that are moved to tears when they hear her voice.

Music is a sacred and precious art to the Arab people. In a world where the ordinary have little room for expression, music is often the avenue to vent sadness, hope and nostalgia of happier times. Music has become a commercial commodity in the Western world, but in the Arab world the sounds and lyrics of the likes of Fairuz and Umm Kalthum are as sacred to society as their religious convictions.

March 14's attempt to strip the Syrian people of their right to bask in that little space of expression was rightfully met with sharp criticism of its own. Fairuz is not simply a symbol of Lebanon, she is a symbol of love, freedom and hope. These are notions applicable to many suffering people in the world, including the Syrians, whom she also feels a close attachment to. She belongs to the Palestinians, to the Syrians, to all Arabs, as well as to the Lebanese, and that is a status she will not yield, not for any political agenda, and I greatly respect her for that.

A good article that featured in Reuters below:

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

DAMASCUS, Jan 28 (Reuters Life!) - Legendary Lebanese singer Fairouz performed to a sell-out crowd in the Syrian capital on Monday, defying politicians who criticised her for going to what they consider enemy territory.

The Arab diva, who burst onto the music scene on Damascus Radio in 1952, returned to the Syrian stage after an absence of two decades, and moved many of her fans in the Opera House audience to tears.

She played the lead role in "Sah al-Nom", a musical satire about a careless ruler who is challenged by a poor woman, and received a standing ovation. The show was performed as part of cultural celebrations in the ancient city of Damascus, chosen as the 2008 Arab Capital of Culture.

"Fairouz transcends politics. In Damascus she has been always treated as an empress," Syrian sculptor Mostapha Ali told Reuters.

Fairouz, who is in her 70s and is a cultural icon of the Arab world, aroused controversy by accepting the invitation from the Baathist government in Damascus at a time of increased tension between Syria and its neighbour Lebanon.

Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt accused Fairouz of playing into the hands of Syrian intelligence services he blamed for a series of political assassinations in Lebanon.

Another Lebanese member of parliament said Fairouz should not perform for "Lebanon's jailers", a reference to Syrian dominance and military presence in Lebanon for most of the period from 1976 until Syrian troops withdrew in 2005.

A group of Syrian political activists also called on Fairouz to boycott Damascus, pointing to a renewed crackdown on dissidents. Just one hour before the play began, intelligence officers arrested leading opposition figure Riad Seif.

Ten other dissidents were charged earlier in the day with undermining the state, and could face long prison sentences.

Syrian political commentator Ayman Abdelnour said Fairouz performed for the Syrian people, not its rulers.

"The Syrians consider Fairouz one of their own. Before they studied geography and went to school they learned about Syria's rivers and mountains from listening to her songs," Abdelnour said.

Fairouz has not responded to the criticism. She last performed in Syria in the 1980s, during the iron rule of President Hafez al-Assad, father of current President Bashar al-Assad, when Syrian troops were still in Lebanon.

The gaunt, enigmatic Fairouz with her trademark long red hair is considered a national treasure in Lebanon. When she returned to Lebanon's Baalbak cultural festival in 1998 for the first time since the 1975-1990 civil war, Beirut's Daily Star newspaper described her return as "catharsis on a national scale".

"The high point of my life was when broke through a crowd in London and kissed Fairouz's hands," said leading Syrian painter Fadi al-Yazigi, who has sought to organise joint exhibitions with Lebanese artists to counter political tension between the two countries.

The late Egyptian composer Mohammad Abdelwahab called Fairouz "our ambassador to the stars". She is Lebanon's biggest artistic export and her recent collaboration with her son Ziad has appealed to a more international audience.

The musical she performed on Monday was composed by her late husband Assi al-Rahbani and re-arranged by Ziad, whose musical creations have ranged from political musicals to jazz.

Back to basics: riots, deaths in Lebanon

A news round-up of the latest activity in Lebanon. Electricity cuts, demonstrations, death, assassinations, Fairuz, it's been a very active weekend.

It's all becoming rather trivial, and I'm becoming a parrot who repeats the same message over and over. My message might seem utopian, but I'd like to believe in my head that the Lebanese people can at their basic humanity, learn to live.

All of our problems are intertwined, and come from the same historical sources that we have yet to confront and deal with. The inequalities between sects, regions and families, the fact that Lebanon exists is causing a headache for a people. Lebanon has not advanced since the French drew the line separating Lebanon from Syria in 1920. Our people have struggled and are still struggling to understand this new concept called Lebanon. The country was and is a colonialist project.

Behind the banners and colours of Lebanon's various political camps, we have - at the core - sections of the community trying to create a distinctive identity that will tie us to this new Lebanese entity, other sections ignoring this attempt and diving in old, pre-1920 roots as the base of their identity. One thing our various political sections do have in common is that they're all lost in this search for an identity. And in this age of uncertainty and ambiguity, the plague of fear and paranoia rises and barriers are fomented, and everyone sits in their corner watching every move of the other.

So when one hears stories of riots due to electricity cuts, it isn't about electricity cuts. It's about equality in this new state, it's about the question of identity, and where this community sits in the Lebanon pie chart. The protests of the Shi'ite southern suburbs is more to do with being at the bottom of the pie chart (which causes them to get the worst of services), than it is about electricity cuts.

The broader problem of March 14 vs Opposition also centres on this same, delicate issue of equal distribution and who sits where on the Lebanon pie chart. What these camps have yet to realise is that it's still possible to remove the pie chart and have an even rectangular establishment where each sect, each region benefits equally from the state's institutions. But as the old Socrates saying goes, "absolute power corrupts absolutely", and it is the ambitions of power which prevent the Lebanese from compromising and instilling harmony.

Seven killed in Beirut riots

BEIRUT (AFP) — At least seven people, including five political activists, were killed on Sunday when street protests over power cuts descended into violence in the mainly Shiite southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.

The bloodshed came amid fears of civil unrest in Lebanon which has been gripped by a protracted presidential crisis, and two days after a massive car bombing killed a top intelligence officer.

Violence swept the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of the Shiite militant movement Hezbollah which is spearheading a campaign against the ruling coalition.

Youths wielding sticks and iron bars went on the rampage, pelting cars with stones and setting some on fire while the army was out in force in a bid to prevent the riots from spreading to nearby Sunni and Christian districts.

Prime Minister Fuad Siniora condemned the violence and called for a national day of mourning on Monday.

"This is an hour of sadness. Our country is passing through the most dangerous times," he said.

"I call on all the people to put their trust in the army at these most difficult times and await the results of the investigations that the army and the security services are undertaking."

The riots were the worst since January 2007 when seven people were killed in clashes between students loyal to rival camps, prompting the army to impose a brief curfew for the first time since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.

An official from the Shiite Amal movement, a pillar of the opposition, said one of its members, Ahmad Hamza Hamza, 21, was killed along with four Hezbollah activists, a rescue worker and a civilian.

Officials said more than 19 people were wounded.

The violence escalated after Hamza, who was cooperating with the army, was killed. It was unclear who fired at the victims, amid reports of snipers shooting into the crowd from rooftops.

Amal and Hezbollah appealed for calm.

"The situation must be contained. We appeal to all the people who are on the streets to go home so that security forces can restore calm to the region," Amal MP Ali Hassan Khalil said, insisting his group was not behind the protests.

The ruling coalition blamed the opposition for the unrest saying it was being manipulated by Syria and Iran.

"The forces of the Syrian-Iranian axis are fomenting unrest and these events are very dangerous," a statement said. "The opposition, which answers to Syria and Iran, is solely responsible for the blood spilled today."

The army shut down many roads to stop the protests from spreading, and soldiers also took positions on rooftops.

As night fell, demonstrators temporarily cut the main airport road with burning tyres while gunfire rang out sporadically across the southern suburbs.

A car that had been set ablaze exploded, triggering panic in Beirut where only two days ago a massive car bombing killed a top anti-terror officer and four other people.

A top security official warned the riots could spread unless politicians reined in their supporters.

"The politicians alone can decide whether to contain their followers or to give them the green light to spread mayhem," the official told AFP. "But all indications are that the situation will escalate and that these protests will become our daily fare."

The unrest flared after demonstrators protesting at power cuts set ablaze tyres, blocking a main road linking the Chiyah and Mar Mikhael neighbourhoods.

The army fired warning shots to disperse the demonstrators, a security official said.

Des manifestations dégénèrent au Liban: au moins 7 morts

Liberation

Des manifestations à Beyrouth et dans le sud du Liban pour protester contre les coupures d'électricité ont dégénéré dimanche en violences, faisant au moins sept morts et plusieurs blessés dans un pays plongé dans une grave crise politique.

Ces violences sont intervenues au moment où les craintes de dérapage augmentent dans un pays divisé sur le partage du pouvoir entre la majorité, soutenue par l'Occident notamment, et l'opposition, appuyée par Damas et Téhéran.

"Sept personnes ont été tuées dans les manifestations, quatre membres du Hezbollah, un d'Amal (deux partis d'opposition), un secouriste et un civil", a déclaré à l'AFP un responsable d'Amal qui a requis l'anonymat.

Il était cependant impossible de déterminer l'origine des tirs. Certaines télévisions ont parlé de francs-tireurs cachés dans les immeubles environnants.

Les violences ont éclaté lorsque des manifestants ont coupé en plusieurs endroits des routes dans la banlieue sud de Beyrouth, fief du Hezbollah et d'Amal, et la principale route menant à l'aéroport international. Elles ont pris une plus grande ampleur après la mort du partisan d'Amal.

Des hommes armés ont ouvert le feu sur les soldats qui avaient effectué des tirs de sommation pour disperser les manifestants, ont affirmé des témoins et des sources au sein des services de sécurité.

Selon les images de télévision, des petits groupes de manifestants ont occupé les voies de circulation, bloquant les voitures. Des bennes à ordures ont aussi été incendiées.

Certains manifestants étaient munis de bâtons et de barres métalliques et d'autres étaient armés. Plusieurs dizaines manifestaient entre les quartiers de Chiyah et Mar-Michael, dans le sud-ouest de la capitale. D'autres s'étaient rassemblés plus au sud avant de bouger dans différents secteurs.

Une voiture qui avait été incendiée par les manifestants dans le sud de la capitale a explosé sans faire de blessés, selon les services de sécurité.

L'armée a indiqué dans un communiqué avoir ouvert une enquête pour connaître les circonstances des incidents et identifier les responsables des tirs.

Dans le sud du pays, des dizaines de manifestants ont coupé brièvement les routes principale et secondaire entre les villes de Saïda et Tyr, distantes de quelque 35 km, avec des pneus enflammés.
Ces violences sont les plus sanglantes depuis les affrontements de janvier 2007 entre partisans des deux camps rivaux qui avaient fait sept morts.

La majorité accuse l'opposition d'utiliser les manifestations à des fins politiques. Mais celle-ci dément.
"Les partis de l'axe syro-iranien ont sciemment voulu faire exploser la situation et répandre le chaos", a affirmé la majorité dans un communiqué. "L'opposition qui répond aux ordres syro-iraniens, porte entièrement la responsabilité du sang versé", ajoute le texte.
Le député Ali Hassan Khalil, du mouvement Amal, a démenti tout lien de son parti avec les rassemblements. "La situation doit être maîtrisée, nous appelons tous les gens à rentrer chez eux", a-t-il dit à la télévision.

Un responsable des services de sécurité a estimé que les manifestations pourraient s'étendre dans les jours à venir. "Seuls les hommes politiques peuvent décider de retenir leurs partisans ou de leur donner le feu vert pour semer le chaos", a-t-il dit sous le couvert d'anonymat. "Tout porte à croire qu'il y aura une escalade et que ces manifestations seront notre pain quotidien".

Le Liban est sans président depuis le 24 novembre 2007 et a été le théâtre d'une série d'attentats ayant visé pour la plupart des personnalités antisyriennes, le dernier ayant tué le 25 janvier un officier des renseignements libanais.

Au Caire, les ministres arabes des Affaires étrangères étaient réunis dimanche pour tenter de trouver une issue à la crise libanaise.

March 14 continues assault on Fairuz concert in Syria

By Nicholas Blanford | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

BEIRUT, lebanon - Revered throughout the Arab world for five decades, the much beloved and iconic Lebanese diva Fairouz has found herself embroiled in Lebanon's bitter crisis with Syria.

Fairouz, long the doyenne of Arab singers, traveled to Syria last week to appear in a six-day run beginning Monday at the Damascus Opera House of her classic 1970 musical "Sah al-Nom," an Arabic expression for "Did you sleep well?" Her appearance is a highlight of a series of cultural events in Syria this year to mark UNESCO designating Damascus as the 2008 Arab capital of culture.

Her decision to sing in Damascus, however, has caused a split in her huge fan base in Lebanon between those arguing that Fairouz should not perform before the rulers of a country blamed for a string of assassinations in Lebanon over the past three years, and others who maintain that the Lebanese diva is above politics and should sing wherever she wishes.

The spat hardened on Friday when a top Lebanese police officer became the latest victim of the bomb assassinations that have blighted Lebanon for over three years. Capt. Wissam Eid, head of the technical department in the paramilitary Internal Security Forces, died along with five other people when a powerful car bomb exploded beside his vehicle in a Beirut suburb.

Lebanon's gridlocked pro- and anti-Syrian factions have been unable to elect a new president since November, and the crisis continues to defy regional and international mediation.

"Those who love Lebanon do not sing for its jailers," says anti-Syrian legislator Akram Shehayeb. "Our ambassador to the stars, you painted for us the dream nation, so don't scatter that dream like the dictators of Damascus scattered our dreams of a democratic free country."

A poll conducted last week by the "Now Lebanon" Web portal, which is sympathetic to the anti-Syrian March 14 coalition in Lebanon, found that 67 percent of respondents were against Fairouz appearing in Damascus.

"Simply, this is not the moment for a musical love-in," a Now Lebanon editorial said. "Fairouz must decide. She is a Lebanese icon, and, as such she must repay the people who have backed her and who love her with a modicum of solidarity."

Born Nohad Haddad, she was given the stage name Fairouz, Arabic for Turquoise, by an early mentor. Her first major concert was in 1957. She became an instant sensation and, in collaboration with her musician husband, Assi Rahbani, and his brother Mansour, her acclaim rose during the 1960s and 1970s.

Fairouz has consistently remained aloof from politics, saying her music was for the people only. Apart from a single concert in 1978, she famously refused to sing in Lebanon during the 1975-90 civil war in disgust at the warring militias, who continued to adore her nonetheless.

Her songs are regularly played during times of difficulty in Lebanon, and, for older generations, they evoke a nostalgia for Lebanon's golden years in the 1950s and 1960s.

A recluse who has given only three interviews in her five-decade career, Fairouz has not responded to her critics. However, her former musical partner Mansour Rahbani said her decision to sing in Damascus was "a message of love and peace from Lebanon to Syria. A message of friendship, not subservience."

Certainly, Syrians are delighted that Fairouz is back in Damascus, her first appearance in the Syrian capital since 1982.

"The Syrians are thrilled, especially the Damascenes," says Sami Moubayed, a historian of Syria's postindependence period in the 1950s. "She reminds them of the 'good old days'," adding that apart from "nostalgia, talent, her gigantic standing [and] heavenly voice ... everybody is pleased that she is defying the anti-Syrian team in Lebanon and coming."

Still, for most ardent fans, Fairouz is a symbol of unity rather than division and her standing will doubtless outlast the current quarrel. As the famous Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani once wrote: "When Fairouz sings, mountains and rivers follow her voice, the mosque and the church, the oil jar and loaves of bread. Through her, every one of us is made to blossom, and once we were no more than sand; men drop their weapons and apologize. Upon hearing her voice, our childhood is molded anew."

Torture still an every-day occurrence in Lebanon

TV3 New Zealand

Last year's battle in Lebanon between Islamist militants and Lebanese soldiers was the country's biggest internal conflict since its civil war ended in 1990.

The fighting took place at a Palestinian refugee camp, and reports have since emerged that refugees, as well as suspected militants, have been tortured by the military.

The army calls the foreign fighters "terrorists," and says they infiltrated the Nahr Al-Bared camp, with help from its Palestinian residents, to destabilise Lebanon.

But human rights groups here say that's irrelevant: nobody, including terrorists, should be tortured.

Lebanese soldiers are bitter that 168 of their comrades were killed at Nahr Al-Bared, and some say the suspects deserve everything they get. Many Lebanese agree.

There's an acceptance that torture is justified. Not by everyone, but there's a lot of people that think that torture might be justified in interrogating people like Fatah Al Islam.

Journalist Omar Nashabe says Lebanese authorities have a well-established record of using torture, with techniques ranging from the use of electricity on suspects to the removal of teeth and fingernails. The most common technique is called "farooj," or rotiseried chicken.

They tie a human being on the bar and they flip him and beat him and flip him and beat him so he takes the beating all over his body.

Among those taking a beating are Palestinian refugees like Abu Saleh, suspected of aiding the Fatah Al-Islam fighters. But he says he fled when the conflict broke out, and was arrested when he went home after the battle.

Like most Palestinian detainees, Abu Saleh was released without charge and told to keep his mouth shut. However, Nashabe says Lebanese need to speak out about torture.

Nashabe says ending torture in Lebanon will mean reforming not only the military and police force but changing people's attitudes.

But with torture in Lebanon widely condoned, that sort of change may take some time.

The passing of a great Australian actor, Heath Ledger

This is totally unrelated to Lebanon or the Middle East, but I'm sure I'll be excused for writing about something that is monumental news in Australia at present.

The world is well informed now of the sad and sudden death of Australian actor, Heath Ledger. The world may have passed it on as another 'another Hollywood star bites the drug', but the reception of his death in Australia has been met with resounding grief.

For a country that only amounts to 2% of the film and music global market, Australia has produced some incredibly fine artists, and Heath Ledger was emerging as one of the greatest.

Originating from the isolated city of Perth, the 28-year-old won acclaim and appraisal from film critics and skeptics alike with his performances. He was known to be incredibly picky about which movies he wanted to star in.

Every movie needed to have significance. He chased the story, not the status. He was inspired by art, not by fame. He never accepted the celebrity aspect of being an actor, Ledger remained a private individual that wasn't a booze hound or a party animal like most of Hollywood's A list. He avoided the scene, and simply worked on developing his artistry. For that's what makes an artist. The ability to create, to imagine, and to pursue those imaginations in the face of overwhelming temptation to do otherwise.

After breaking through with his hit teen movie, 10 things I hate about you, in 1999, Ledger rejected every teen movie offer after that, and there were plenty. He didn't want to become a teen star, I don't think he wanted to be a star at all. He wanted to perform in movies that conveyed a real, serious message. His choice to act in Brokeback Mountain wasn't a coincidence,

Ledger is reported to have referred to his uncle Neil as the inspiration behind his Oscar-nominating performance in Ang Lee's gay cowboy film. His uncle was as masculine and butch as they come, a bare-knuckle fist fighter in fact. He's also as gay as they come. Neil's father disowned him when he was 20 and kicked him out of the house. Ledger recalls other more personal stories of his uncle Neil, all of which made Ledger determined to make a movie portraying the hardships of gay men in highly masculine streams of life.

Ledger chose the genres, chose the stories, chose the issues that he wanted to be the base of his art. Rejecting those teen flicks early in his career did come at a price. He ran short of cash, right to the extent where he was surviving on mere rice. Perseverance and persistence gave in, he became a success. He stood by his principles (and to find a Hollywood star with principles is already extremely rare, let alone stand by them) at all costs to become the person he envisioned to be.

He was a staunch opponent of the Iraq war and dared to speak out against it when most Americans and Australians were in favour. Society and principles mattered dearly to Heath Ledger. He avoided the lucrative temptation of caving into any role for the dollar. He didn't pursue the dollar, and he didn't pursue the fame. In fact, it was probably the fame and dollar that drove Ledger to his depression, and his subsequent death.

He wanted to be an artist, but he couldn't handle the fame that came with it. We've seen and are still seeing many performers in Hollywood struggle with the celebrity status, Britney Spears and Michael Jackson are but examples.

So why did Ledger keep it all hidden, and why did it end this way?

The police and his family are referring to his death as "accidental". You don't "accidentally" take a large quantity of sleeping pills and expect to wake up. The police found no trace of illegal substance, and the autopsy proved inconclusive (that was after the first round screening of illegal substances), so he wasn't enjoying a high from a drug substance. Yet stories are now emerging of an unsettled, troubled Ledger, someone suffering from severe depression.

He was known to be a private individual, but could he have been suffering so much? Had he become a person that didn't satisfy him? Did the role of the Joker make him anxious and panic? His art, or rather the roles that he chose to play, were important to Ledger. He wanted them, as I have mentioned, to reflect upon messages that were of significance to society.

Did playing a psycho-path, mass murdering criminal shake the persona of Ledger?

Could it be that he may have had trouble adapting to a character that wasn't him, and to the extreme point of even terrifying Ledger?

Did playing the Joker force Ledger to see something within himself, that he couldn't bare to live with?

It's an extraordinary story. A young man that showed little sign of depression and private problems to a mass media waiting to tear at a celebrity's life as soon as the pen is dropped (Britney Spears for example), was in fact probably the most depressed individual in Hollywood. It is tragic, it is sad. We lost an artist, not merely an actor.

Ledger leaves behind a 2-year old daughter and a legacy that has left a severe impact on many lives. He became a gay icon after the gay iconic Brokeback Mountain. His portrayal of a closet gay cowboy gave inspiration to many homosexuals around the world who are living in fear, in secret, or who have been ostracised by their community.

Ledger wanted to convey an important message to the world through his artistry, and he did. He succeeded.

He'll be sorely missed. One feedback commentator in Australia's The Age noted that although she didn't know Ledger personally, it feels like a personal loss. I can vouch for the same.

Rest in peace.

Hamas beats Israel's Gaza Siege

Article from Time:

It took explosives to do what diplomacy couldn't: allow Palestinians to go on a shopping spree. The siege of Gaza, imposed by Israel and the international community after Hamas seized control of the Palestinian territory last July, ended abruptly before dawn on Wednesday when militants blew as many as 15 holes in the border wall separating the territory from Egypt. In the hours that followed, over 350,000 Palestinians swarmed across the frontier, nearly one fifth of Gaza's entire population.

Some Palestinians craved medicine and food — goats appeared to be a hot item — because Israel had cut off most supplies from entering Gaza as punishment for militants' firing rockets into southern Israel. Students and businessmen joined the throng heading for Egypt. There were scores of brides-to-be, stuck on the Egyptian side, who scurried across to be united with their future bridegrooms in Gaza. And some, like teacher Abu Bakr, stepped through a blast hole into Egypt simply "to enjoy the air of freedom."

The previous day, President Housni Mubarak faced the wrath of the Arab world when his riot police used clubs and water hoses to attack Palestinian women pleading for Egypt to open the Rafah crossing in Gaza. And despite pressure from Israel and the United States, Mubarak wasn't about to order his men to use force to restrain Palestinians rendered desperate by Israel's siege. The Egyptian President said he ordered his troops to "let them come to eat and buy food and go back, as long as they are not carrying weapons."

At 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Palestinian militants detonated explosive charges knocking out slabs in the 26-foot concrete border wall, and by dawn, Gazans were racing to the open border on donkey carts and tractors and in cars. Once through the holes, they trampled across barbed wire, vaulted over fences and picked their way gingerly through cactus. Many carried heavy suitcases and said that they were never coming back to captivity in Gaza.

But most Gazans were in a mad scramble to go shopping, and they returned with everything from goats to tires to jerricans full of gasoline. One stout woman in a veil threaded nimbly through barbed wire with a tray of canned fruit balanced on her head. The Palestinians cleaned out every shop on the Egyptian side: By afternoon, there was nothing to buy within a six-mile distance of the border; and even the Sinai town of El-Arish, three hours drive away, had been sucked dry of gasoline. One taxi driver who brought back cartons of cigarettes and gallons of gas to resell for a profit in Gaza said, "This should help feed my family for several months."

Israel expressed fears that Hamas militants would use the breach in the border to bring in weapons. One Palestinian said he witnessed dozens of Hamas men who had been stuck in Egypt for months crossing into Gaza. Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Aryeh Mekel told newsmen, "We have real concerns that they can now freely smuggle explosives, missiles and people into Gaza, which makes an already bad situation even worse."

Hamas moved quickly to capitalize on the mass celebration of the border's breach. The movement's parliamentary leader, Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh, called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egypt to join in urgent talks to find a formula for keeping the Gaza-Egypt border permanently open. Haniyeh said Hamas was prepared to set up joint control of the border with the President's forces, bringing an end to a hostilities between the two factions that erupted last July when Hamas militants chased the President's Fatah militia out of Gaza.

Now that Gazans have exploded out of their besieged enclave, it may be up to Israel to seal up the border again, since the Egyptians are showing no signs of doing so. Israel had put the economic squeeze on Gaza's 1.5 million people — a policy described as "collective punishment" by many aid organizations — hoping it would turn the Palestinians against Hamas. But with the siege broken, even if temporarily, Hamas has earned the gratitude of hungry Palestinians and reinvigorated its popularity in Gaza.

Weekend ponderings

I must say that I passed a rather tranquil and pleasant weekend. I deliberately switched off my laptop, TV, radio, got as far away from any form of media communication that would bring to me news from the Middle East.

This weekend was to be a No Middle East weekend to enable me to maintain a smile for at least 48 hours straight.

However, all said and done, that didn't absolve me from engaging in private discussions with friends (my Lebanese friends anyway) on the issues that consistently plague our minds. Well there is only one issue that has such an effect, a doctor might render it a form of a disease, it's called the Lebanon syndrome.

I did happen to share an interesting conversation with two Lebanese female friends of mine on the topic of Lebanese hospitality and post-war trauma.

My friends and I do have one thing in common ... our ages. We stem from the post-war generation, the generation that inherited all the stories, hurt and anger our parents faced when they were trapped in the 15 year long civil war. The three of us come from different sects in Lebanon, different regions in Lebanon, and different political backgrounds. Yet, we happily converse and proceed with a cohesive friendship, perhaps because our Australian upbringing has hosed down the tension most Lebanese in Lebanon feel.

It's quite incredible that for "different" Lebanese to meet requires a voyage to the other side of the world, where the social, sectarian and political barriers that prevent the Lebanese within Lebanon to do exactly the same have been removed. Nonetheless, we do it, not without our tense moments, I can assure you, but we do always manage to discuss in a fruitful manner.

Nevertheless, back to the subject of post-war trauma. We were all quite intrigued of the war experiences of our parents and their generation. I've indeed heard all the gruesome and sad stories from my mother, likewise for my friends. So we asked ourselves, how are our parents not traumatised? How have they seen what they've seen, and been able to move on?

Grotesque murders and slaughters were witnessed daily by our parents. They lost loved ones, friends, family, they spent days hiding under tables to avoid the bombs. Day and night, bombs and fire, death and destruction. Yet, today, on the other side of the world, my mother goes about her daily routine as if the war never existed. She never had any therapy. We're Lebanese, seeing a shrink and seeking "professional" psychological assistance is more of a Western remedy. Our question the other night was, how? How have they done it? What goes on through their head?

It isn't easy to survive a war, yet die at the same time. I always viewed my mother as living her second life in Australia. The woman from Lebanon who was to become my mother, probably doesn't exist anymore. Friends, family, her life was taken a way within an instant. My friends concurred in regards to their own parents and family.

What about the Lebanese that remained in Lebanon and didn't have the chance to leave? They weren't given a chance to begin a "second" life, like my parents and the parents of my peers. The anger still festers, the hurt still lingers, the memory still vivid. They can't walk away from it. Lebanon is still suffering from a war we tried so fervently to turn our backs on, but deep down the pain remains.

Amongst ourselves the other night, we tried to explain why the Lebanese have become so materialistic and superficial so as to forget their own great customs that have made them renowned in the world. Our parents, stories from the 60s and 70s, always spoke to us of a Lebanese hospitality and generosity that met no comparison. The villages with people full of trust and warmth that they would welcome foreigners from the ends of the earth, shelter them, and celebrate their coming.

Today, Lebanon is seething in mistrust, in doubt, and in fear. An attempted smile is generally made, but their eyes question your presence. And then there's the brands. Lebanese who would prefer to live in a room a size of a bathroom, just so they can indulge in their material possessions of Gucci sunglasses and BMW cars. Lebanese don't care any more, they spent 15 years living in the dark, now they live every day as if it is their last, as if a war will come and destroy all their possession and condemn them back to the darkness. Take it while you can, that's the Lebanese motto du jour.

Then we spoke of Syria. My friends are supporters of the anti-Syrian March 14, but they relayed to me their astonishment of the Syrian hospitality. One of my friends recounted a story of how she got lost in Damascus and a lady invited her into her home and threw a feast for her, just like that. No questions, no doubt, no lies, it was indeed genuine hospitality, genuine warmth. We said to ourselves this was the Lebanon our parents told us about, their Lebanon before the war, a Lebanon that is now lost. Where has our warmth, our generosity, our hospitality gone?

Syria's 40-year dictatorship has prevented the country from developing economically, but has maintained stability as well as a deeply rooted culture that Lebanon is rapidly losing. Although each country has the right to advance, Syria's "regression" has ironically rendered its society warm and open.

I lament when I watch what art our country is producing nowadays. How we have gone from leading artists and musicians such as Fairuz and Assi Rahbani only 30 - 40 years ago, to the regurgitated plastic pop of Haifa and Nancy. I tend to use art as an expression of one's culture.

Our music was once rich in the manner it was composed, in the poetic lyrics it chanted. The songs relayed a culture of warmth, generosity, and of core, sacred values. Today, our Saudi-funded songs generally feature half naked plastic women (and the men are following), with lyrics to rival the likes of Britney Spears. Coincidentally, plastic surgery is so widespread in Lebanon that publicities now decorate the country's freeway billboards.

So we asked ourselves the other night ... what has happened to Lebanon?

The war destroyed more than just buildings and architecture. Buildings can be rebuilt, and much of it has, but the core of our nation, the days where we would embrace strangers as well as brothers, has yet to return. It perhaps explains our current state of ambiguity. Fear, mistrust and anger still fester in Lebanon, in place of the kind hospitality that we've heard so much about, but see so little of.

Far from the Borders

If there's one bookstore that's worth criticising, it's the global giant retailer, Borders.

The US company, which is one of Australia's major book retailers, received a visitor on the weekend ... me.

As I was buying time before my movie started, I decided to wonder into the quite spacious Borders with an extensive range crossing two floors.

Although I had banned myself from everything Middle East that weekend, I couldn't resist taking a peak at the "Middle East" history section. Indeed, such a section does exist.

On the right hand side, a section had been devoted to "Israeli history", and contrastingly on the left hand side the section was labelled "Middle East history". So far it seemed fair, one side for the Arabs, one for Israel, trying to keep the balance in the world's greatest polemic.

Then I began to read the titles of the books, which started to sway my positive opinion of Borders. The focus of the topics of the vast majority of books displayed in the "Israeli" section was on the drags of war, with such titles as "The Munich Massacre" and "Never-ending War".

These were the kind of stories that attempted to draw pity and sympathy for the Israelis who have to endure so much, and yet all they're seeking is a tiny peace of desert, why can't the big bad Arabs leave them in peace etc. I suspected as much from the "Israeli" section, very rarely do you see criticism of Israel in the "Israeli" section in any bookstore in Australia.

So I turned to the Middle East (or Arab) section to see if the same genre of "feel sorry for me" books were to be found. Not entirely. Instead one large slice of the section was devoted to books with fully veiled women from Iran on their covers, with blurs that convey to you the harsh treatment of females in the Persian (non-Arab) country. Another large section was devoted to pretty much the same topic, but of females in Saudi Arabia.

Essentially, the first impression any ignorant Westerner receives - who'd like to educate him/herself on the Middle East dilemma - upon passing by the Middle East/Israel history section is as follows: Israel is the victim of countless wars and aggression, while the Arabs beat their women and keep them mummified in black burqas.

I'm not going to deny that Iran and Saudi Arabia have abhorrent policies when it comes to women, but I'm definitely not going to deny that Israel doesn't have abhorrent policies when it comes to Palestinians. Either show both sides of the coin, or don't show any.

Another great victory to the Jewish lobby.

Saudi - Syria public spat over Lebanon

Tension between Saudi Arabia and Syria doesn't seem to be abating, with the fallout over Lebanon again reaching public light.

Saudi Arabia, in conjunction with Bush's tour, criticised Syria for not pushing its allies in Lebanon to accept the Arab plan.

Syria hit back saying that its allies were not "tools" and that Saudi Arabia and Egypt should convince their own allies, who "boast of their allegiance to Saudi Arabia", to accept a solution.

Egypt resumed its threat that obstacles in Lebanon might jeapordise the Damascus Arab summit scheduled for March. Syria asserted that the summit will go ahead, regardless of the threats.

The pro-American Arab states threatened Syria in negotiations in Cairo last week that they will not attend the Arab summit in Damascus if the Syrians didn't accept their plan. The Syrians obliged, signed onto the plan, or at least publicly, but has refused to use its influence to pressure its Lebanese allies to co-operate. Syria's inaction has infuriated Saudi Arabia and Egypt, who were counting on Syria's support of the Arab plan to get the situation in Lebanon resolved.

Syria has given her Arab rivals the cheek once again.

Franjieh: Patriarch Sfeir is an "American employee"

Divisions also surfaced again within the Maronite community, with Sleiman Franjiyeh labelling the spiritual head of the Maronites, Patriarch Sfeir, as an "American and French employee".

The Opposition leader brushed off French threats that the matter will be taken to the UN Security Council, and rightly so. Lebanon has visited the UNSC's table on a number of occasions in the past 24 months, with the resolutions amounting to very little.

But all in all, Lebanese stubborness is beginning to take hold. Neither side is caving in, and foreign players continue to accuse each other of not finding a solution. This is the Middle East's version of Hollywood gossip.

At the end of the day, the only people we can blame for Lebanon's failure are the Lebanese leaders.

Quit the bitching, quit the threats, and quit messing with the lives of millions of Lebanese.