Beirut: "The Whole Arab World is Watching"

Hisham Melhem, Washington bureau chief for Lebanon's An-Nahar newspaper, calls the fall of the Karami puppet government in Beirut "a monumental event." The Lebanese, he says, "brought down a feeble government without firing a shot."

"The whole Arab world is watching on Arab satellite stations," he adds, "which are covering live the events unfolding in Beirut; and it's having tremendous effect on the Arab people, the Lebanese developments coming after the Palestinian elections and the Iraqi elections. There is a sense of growing empowerment. And this may be the beginning of a real change."

Update: Today's NYT takes a look at the problems ahead in Beirut, rounding up observations from such leading leading Lebanese analysts as reason's own Michael Young.

More: Reuters has done a wire on the challenges facing Lebanon's "people power" movement; it quotes Michael Young at length.

Comments

[Todd Fletcher]

What does this Hisham Melhem guy know? joe said it was because Bush is mending fences with Europe, right joe?

[joe]

It was a joke, Doug. I deliberately chose an event that could not in any way be said to have a causal relationship with what's going on in Egypt, to draw attention to the fact that your interpretation asserts a causal relationship without ever providing evidence.

I think you're become a little too comfortable believing absurd things.

[Who's Hungry?]

You can soak crows overnight in saltwater or three to four hours in a mixture of a cup of vinegar and three cups of water and a teaspoon of salt.

The book cautions hunters to remove the oil gland at the base of the tail. It also tells how to tell an old bird from a young one.

If the leg bends nearly doubled over, it is a young bird. If the leg snaps, it's an old bird.

OK, here's a recipe for Crow and Kraut from the book:

? Brown crow breasts in butter in a skillet.

? Place a layer of sauerkraut in a casserole and cover with crow breasts.

? Cover crow breasts with three or four strips of bacon.

? Sprinkle over four tablespoons of finely chopped onions.

? Top with another layer of sauerkraut.

? Add more sauerkraut juice or water as necessary.

? Bake two hours in an oven at moderate heat.

Enjoy. You know, those coots, or mud hens, are sounding better and better.

[saw-whet]

Can I substitute chicken? All the crows here in Auburn, NY were shot a couple of weeks ago.

[CodeMonkeySteve]

First the Ukraine, now Lebanon ... Damn these countries! How dare they establish their own sovereignty without a benevolent superpower to invade them and make sure it's done properly?

[Gary Gunnels]

CodeMonkeySteve,

Yours is the best comment so far. 🙂

[CodeMonkeySteve]

... and Egypt too!

Gary: That's a sad, sad comment on the state of this thread. But thanks anyway. 😉

[No Rush to Judge]

"We will make the world safe for democracy."
- Woodrow Wilson, c1917.

Sure enough, in the first few years after the Treaty of Versailles, democracy looked pretty good. Since some of you are adverse to spoilers (see the Oscar thread), I won't tell you what happened after the mid-20s.

"We will make the Arab world safe for democracy."
- The average neocon, c2003.

I'll reserve judgment for about 20 years, if you don't mind.