#Fadi Mansour

[pierpointco]

FIRST LOOK of the upcoming season of INDUSTRY.

Season three returning cast: Myha’la, Marisa Abela, Harry Lawtey, Ken Leung, Conor MacNeill, Sagar Radia, Indy Lewis, Adam Levy, Sarah Parish, Trevor White, Elena Saurel, and Irfan Shamji. Season three new cast: Kit Harington as Sir Henry Muck, Sarah Goldberg as Petra Koenig, Miriam Petche as Sweetpea Golightly, Andrew Havill as Lord Norton, Roger Barclay as Otto Mostyn, Fady Elsayed as Ali El Mansour, and Fiona Button as Denise Oldroyd. 

David Jonsson is not expected to appear in Season 3.

[i-am-aprl]

"We have no one on the ground in Gaza, but we are very confident in this information."

This is the summary of the evidence possessed by U.S. intelligence regarding Gaza hospitals being used as Hamas headquarters. This was stated by Sabrina Singh, the deputy spokesperson for the Pentagon, in response to questions from Al Jazeera's correspondent at the Pentagon Fadi Mansour. This is how the White House participated in inciting against al-Shifa Hospital and supporting its invasion on Wednesday morning.

[kennak]

世界最大のアダルトサイトであるPornhubの運営会社であるMindGeekが、カナダの投資ファンドに買収されていたとフィナンシャル・タイムズが報じている。今回の買収はEthical Capital Partners（ECP）という昨年設立されたばかりの企業により実施されたという。ECPは、今回の買収に関してその取引条件を明らかにしていないとされる（Financial Times、The Verge、TechCrunch、GIGAZINE）。 ECPの創業パートナーであるFady Mansour氏は声明で「ECPのリソースと規制、法執行、公共関与、財務にわたる幅広い専門知識を活用することで、MindGeekは同社を強化する機会を得た」と述べており、同社の抱えている法的な問題を解決する意向を示している。 MindGeekは現在、さまざまな訴訟を抱えている。またPayPal、Mastercard、Visa、Discoverといった決済サービスやクレジットカード会社が、支払いを処理を受け付けなくなったことも問題となっていた。このため、2020年12月には、Pornhub上にある検証されていないコンテンツをすべて削除した上で、ユーザーがアップロードした動画に登場する人物に身元確認を求めるように仕様を変更していた。

Pornhubの運営会社が買収される | スラド

[designers-of-lebanon]

This is a pinned list of the designers we are following. Please let us know if you have other suggestion.

Abed Mahfouz - Alfazairy - Ali Al Khechen - Amal Sarieddine - Antonios Couture - Azzi & Osta - Basil Soda - Charbel Karam - Charbel Zoe - Dany Atrache - Dina Jsr - Edward Arsouni - Elie Saab - Elio Abou Fayssal - Ella Zahlan - Fadi El Khoury - Fadwa Baalbaki - Fouad Sarkis - Gemy Maalouf - Georges Chakra - Georges Hobeika - Hanna Touma - Hass Idriss - Hussein Bazaza - Jad Ghandour - Jean Fares - Jean Pierre Tohme - Krikor Jabotian - Maison Roula - Marwan And Khaled - Mikael D - Mikhail Chamoun - Mira Hayek - Mireille Dagher - Naja Saade - Naji Hojeily - Nicolas Jebran - Pierre Katra - Rabih Kayrouz - Rami Kadi - Rami Salamoun - Rani Zakhem - Rayane Bacha - Reem Acra - Reem Kachmar - Robert Abi Nader - Rouba G - Saher Dia - Sandra Mansour - Sandy Nour - Sara Mrad - Shady Zeineldine - Sonia Fares - Tarek Sinno - Tony Chaaya - Tony Ward - Tony Yaacoub - Toufic Hatab - Ziad Nakad - Zuhair Murad

[6pillars]

This Week's Six Pillars - 'Points of Contact', Lebanon

This Week’s Six Pillars – ‘Points of Contact’, Lebanon

This week on Resonance104.4FM, a visit from Helene Kazan, artist, curator and PhD candidate at the Centre for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths University, London. Kazan discusses her recently curation of the exhibition and public program, of multi-media responses and investigations into the evolving architecture of the lived/ built environment of Lebanon, at Goethe-Institut, Lebanon. Helen…

[freenewstoday]

New Post has been published on https://freenews.today/2021/04/21/westboro-bus-crash-trial-diallo-wont-testify-in-her-defence/

Westboro bus crash trial: Diallo won't testify in her defence

Breadcrumb Trail Links

News

Local News

Because the rookie driver won’t take the stand, her reaction, and words after the crash, are revealed only from other witnesses.

Author of the article:

Gary Dimmock

OC Transpo driver Aissatou Diallo is seen here arriving at the Ottawa courthouse on a day in early March. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

Article content

Aissatou Diallo, the rookie OC Transpo driver on trial for dangerous driving causing death, will not take the stand in her own defence.

The Crown rested its case against Diallo last week without calling a single Ottawa police reconstruction officer or the lead investigator, Alain Boucher, to testify.

Diallo, a 44-year-old single mom of four, is on trial for three counts of dangerous driving causing death and 35 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. She had only driven Route 269 twice before she slammed a double-decker bus into a steel-framed bus shelter at Westboro Station around 3:50 p.m. on Jan. 11, 2019. 

The crash killed passengers Anja Van Beek, 65, Judy Booth, 57, and Bruce Thomlinson, 56, and left many more with horrific, life-altering injuries.

Diallo is not required to testify by law as it’s up to the Crown to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

While prosecutors didn’t call any reconstruction officers to testify at the high-profile trial, the driver’s leading lawyers, Fady Mansour and Solomon Friedman, will call a reconstruction expert to the stand next week.

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On the first day of trial, in March, court heard that old, fluorescent-orange, temporary construction markings on the westbound Transitway were still visible on the day of the deadly crash.

The tender for the road work on the Transitway required the contractor to sandblast away the temporary, fluorescent construction markings. But, as the court heard, they were instead simply painted over in black paint. Over time, particularly in the winter, the paint wore off only to reveal the temporary markings designed to divert traffic into other lanes.

An OC Transpo special constable who was one of the first on the scene after the crash testified he didn’t notice that the fluorescent markers from construction months earlier had been revealed from wear. Had he noticed this on one of his patrols, he would have reported it, he testified.

Because the rookie driver won’t take the stand, her reaction and words after the crash are revealed only from other witnesses.

By all accounts, Diallo appeared to be in shock, but still managed to call dispatch for help in a remarkably calm and detailed fashion. Her first concern was for her passengers, who she could hear screaming on the upper deck. She told the operator in the control room that passengers were trapped on the upper deck behind a wall of debris.

She said people were crying and there was blood everywhere. She told the dispatcher she needed help and asked them to call firefighters to free trapped passengers on the upper deck.

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Diallo was arrested at the scene, but wasn’t charged until seven months later.

Assistant Crown attorney Louise Tansey has told the court that nobody is suggesting Diallo woke up on Jan. 11, 2019, with malice on her mind, but said the rookie bus driver abdicated her responsibility as a professional driver for 15 seconds. In that time, the prosecutor noted, the driver was speeding, only tapped on the brakes once and never steered clear of the bus shelter.

Tansey also said the bus was mechanically sound before and after the crash, according to inspection reports.

While details of the critical moments after the crash will not be detailed by Diallo because she’s not taking the stand, her reaction and words are also revealed in a police officer’s notes filed in the court earlier this year.

Ottawa police Const. Corey Bourguignon was the first officer to approach the shaken and tearful bus driver.

Bourguignon was in Vanier when the call came at 4 p.m., 10 minutes after the double-decker bus slammed into a steel awning. He added himself to the call and, as he sped towards the scene, he learned there were multiple injuries. He made it there in just 16 minutes.

“I could see several people around me were deeply affected by this collision,” the officer wrote in his notes. “Looking at their faces, many had looks of horror, fear and were seen crying and appearing very vulnerable. I could see the helpless look of those stuck on the upper deck of the OC Transpo bus while firefighters made attempts to extract them.”

Diallo was co-operative and her first concern was whether anyone had died, according to the officer. “It was quite apparent that she was genuinely concerned for the passengers on the bus. She had tears streaming down her face and appeared helpless,” the constable wrote in his notes.

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[politicsprose]

Celebrating Islamic Culture Through Children’s Literature

The Children and Teens Department at Politics and Prose has long recognized the power of books to introduce young readers to different cultures. Stories geared to kids have a tremendous ability to celebrate human diversity and promote the common humanity of people around the world.

A recent example is Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan, who is scheduled to appear at the store on Thursday, March 30, at 7 p.m. The book, for ages 8 to 12, addresses Islamophobia and prejudice in the United States. It depicts a middle-school girl who, despite her wish to blend in, encounters bigotry against her and her faith when her mosque is vandalized. The ultimate message is one of hope and inclusion as people of all faiths and backgrounds rally to assist. We hope you will join us for Khan’s talk.

Conveying the richness of Islamic culture is especially important in this moment when, all too often, Islam is discussed in the United States in the context of politics and terrorism and tends to be portrayed as a monolithic threat. New publishing imprints such as Salaam Reads are attempting to counter this distorted perspective, as are works by a number of Muslim authors. Our Children and Teens Department features books from a diverse range of Muslim voices. Among those recommended by P&P’s booksellers are:

The Amazing Discoveries of Ibn Sina by Fatima Sharafeddine. This picture book, with lovely illustrations by Intelaq Mohammed Ali, uses first-person narration to tell the story of Ibn Sina, who was born in Persia more than a thousand years ago. He had an insatiable love of learning and wanted to know everything about literature, philosophy and the sciences. His special interest was medicine, and he was one of the first practitioners to administer anesthesia before surgery. (Ages 7 to 11)

King for a Day by Rukhsana Khan. This beautifully illustrated picture book introduces readers to the centuries-old spring festival of Basant and the traditional sport of kite-fighting. It also features a spirited, determined young boy named Malik who masters the sport while finding his own way to confront and overcome life’s challenges. (Ages 6 to 10)

Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai. In the summer of 2001, twelve-year-old Fadi’s parents make the difficult decision to leave Afghanistan and move to the United States. Fadi’s sister accidentally gets left behind. The family then faces the events of September 11th while Fadi holds to the hope of seeing his sister again. Based on real life experiences of the author’s husband, this story is one of endurance and hope. (Ages 8 to 12)

The Green Bicycle by Haifaa Al Mansour. Set in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this book follows Wadjda, an eleven-year-old girl who dreams of buying a bicycle in a society where it is considered improper for girls to ride bikes. Although she faces setbacks in achieving her goal, her perseverance pays off in the end. The story depicts shifting social attitudes in the Middle East, addressing gender roles, conformity, and family. (Ages 10 and up)

X by Ilyasah Shabazz. Co-written by the daughter of Malcolm X, this novel tells the story of Malcolm Little and his troubled teenage years in Boston and New York. Bad influences and decisions landed Malcolm in prison for theft, where conversion to the Nation of Islam and a positive mentor channeled his energy into social action.

Watched by Marina Budhos. In this thrilling coming-of-age story, Naeem was in middle school when he moved to New York from Bangladesh. Now 18 and in the final term of his senior year, his grades have slipped and, like many teenagers, he has made more than a few mistakes. Threatened with arrest and presented with a choice by local police, Naeem believes he has been provided an opportunity to switch from victim to hero. But in a time of uncertainty, deception, cultural differences, and constant surveillance, who is truly worthy of his trust? (Ages 12 to 17).

— Brad and Lissa

[freelioness]

To the fallen, we mourn you and promise to continue the struggle until white supremacy and colonization is abolished, and patriarchy is dismantled. The names and ages of Palestinians murdered by Israeli colonial forces today follow via Ahmed Jenin: 1. Azzeddin Musa Mohammed Al-Sammak, (14 years old.) 2. Wesaal Fadel Izzat Sheikh Khalil (15 years old.) 3. Ahmad Adel Mousa Al-Sha er (16 years old.) 4. Said Mohammed Abu al-Khair (16 years.) 5. Ibrahim Ahmed Zarqa (18 years old.) 6. Emad Ali Sadeq Al-Sheikh (19 years old.) 7. Ziad Mohammed Hassan Omar, (19 years old.) 8. Mu tasim Fawzi Abu Luli (20 years old.) 9. Anas Hamdan Salem Qudeih (21 years old.) 10. Mohammed Abdel-Salam Haraz (21 years.) 11. Yehia Ismail Ragab Al-Dakour (22 years old.) 12. Mustafa Mohamed Samir Mahmoud El Masry (22 years.) 13. Azzedine Nahed Al-Aweiti (23 years old) 14. Mahmoud Mustafa Ahmed Assaf (23 years.) 15. Ahmed Fayez Harb Shehada (23 years.) 16. Ahmad Awadallah (24 years old.) 17. Khalil Ismail Khalil Mansour (25 years.) 18. Mohammed Ashraf Abu Stah (26 years) 19. Bilal Ahmed Abu Daqqa, (26 years old) 20. Ahmed Majid Qassem Attallah (27 years old) Mahmoud Rabah Abu Muammar (28 years old.) 22. Mus ab Yousef Abu Lailiya (28 years old.) 23. Ahmad Fawzi al-Tatar (28 years old.) 24. Mohammed Abdulrahman Mekdad (28 years old.) 25. Salem Salem Farhan (30 years old.) 26. Jihad Al-Farra (30 years.) 27. Fadi Hassan Abu Salmi (30 years old.) 28- MotaazBassam Kamel al-Nuno,( 31years) 29. Mohammed Riyad Abdel Rahman Al-Amoudi (31 years. 30.Jihad Mohammed Osman Musa (31 years old.) 31. Shaher Mahmoud Mohammed Al-Madhoun, (32 years old.) 32. Musa Jaber Abdel Salam Abu Hassanein (35 years old.) 33- Mohammed Mahmoud Abdel-Moati Abdel-Al al (39 years.) 34. Ahmed Mohammed Ibrahim Hamdan (27 years old.) 35. Ismail Khalil Ramadan Al Dahouk (30 years.) 36. Ahmed Mahmoud Mohammed Rantisi (27 years.) 37. Anwar Ahmed Al-Khatib, (28 years old.) 38. Mahmoud Yahya Abdel Wahab Hussein (24 years.) 39. Ahmed Abdullah Al-Adini (30 years.) 40. Sa adi Saeed Fahmi Abu Salah (16 years old.) 41. Ahmed Zuhair Hamed Al Shawa (24 years.) Mohammed Hani Hani Al-Najjar (33 years.) 43-58. Not yet known. #PROTECTPALESTINE

[filmmakeruae]

One Woman Show - Karima Mansour from Seif Abdalla on Vimeo.

One Woman Show: Episode Three, The Sublime Karima Mansour

This episode is very special to me as I got to know and work closely with Karima, a pioneer and visionary of our time in contemporary dance and one of the founders of the dance scene in Egypt.

Production house Axeer Executive producer AbdulRahman Elgarawany Director Seif Abdalla Producer RaMy Tarek Assistant Producer Ziad Shaban Dp Amr Nazeer Post Producer Ahmed Khalid Youseif Editing, Coloring Ammar nabil Stylist Reem Salama Creative Shaimaa Elgawady Mixing Fady Garas

[biofunmy]

Cycle of revenge: What’s next after killing of Iran general?

JERUSALEM — The unprecedented killing of Iran’s top general in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq has sent shockwaves across the Middle East, with Iran and its allies vowing revenge amid fears of an all-out war.

But while they have vast arsenals and are within striking distance of U.S. troops deployed in Syria, Iraq and the Gulf, Iran may be wary of launching a retaliatory attack that could ignite a major conflict.

The targeted attack on Friday could give them pause by signaling that the mercurial President Donald Trump is willing to wield U.S. military power in dramatic and unforeseen ways.

The slain general, Qassem Soleimani, was a towering figure who mobilized heavily-armed militias across the region against the United States and its allies, extending Iran’s influence to the Mediterranean.

His death was a major blow to Iran and led nearly everyone from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on down to vow massive retaliation.

“There will be for sure a reaction from Iran’s side and the axis of resistance, but the question is where, when and how,” said Ibrahim Bayram, an analyst with Lebanon’s daily An-Nahar. “I think the Iranians are precise and know how to direct the hit.”

Here is a look at possible scenarios going forward:

———

AMERICA OUT OF IRAQ

The most immediate repercussions are likely to be felt in Iraq, where the airstrike — which also killed a top Iraqi militia commander — was seen as an assault on the country’s sovereignty.

Iraq’s parliament will meet for an emergency session Sunday. On Saturday, the country’s powerful Iran-backed militias will hold a funeral in Baghdad that thousands are expected to attend.

The targeted killing is likely to strengthen Iran-backed forces and political factions in the face of anti-government protesters who oppose Tehran’s influence. Iran’s allies can now present themselves as upholding national sovereignty against foreign aggression.

Iraq’s government, which has maintained an uneasy alliance with both Washington and Tehran, will come under mounting pressure to expel the 5,200 American troops who are in the country to help prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group.

Restricting or expelling American troops on Iraqi soil is a likely immediate impact option, according to Renad Mansour, a research fellow at the London-based international affairs think tank Chatham House.

“I think it would be hard for any Iraqi government official making a claim to keep American troops after this,” Mansour said. If America goes, he added, other diplomatic missions might follow.

That would place Iraq even more firmly in Iran’s camp, alongside Syria and Lebanon, and fulfill a goal Soleimani had pursued since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

But it might not be enough.

———

REGIONAL PRESSURE POINTS

Over the last decade, Soleimani had mobilized tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters in Syria and Iraq, who have battled alongside President Bashar Assad in Syria’s civil war and fought the Islamic State group in both countries.

The United States has relatively small deployments of troops in both countries who could be targeted in revenge attacks. The latest escalation began last week when a rocket attack blamed on an Iran-backed Iraqi militia killed a U.S. contractor.

The U.S. responded with a wave of airstrikes that killed 25 militiamen in Iraq and Syria, and the militiamen then staged two days of violent protests at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. No one was hurt in the protests, but demonstrators breached the embassy compound.

Iran could also exact revenge through allies further afield, in Lebanon, Yemen or the Gaza Strip.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group dominates Lebanon and has an arsenal of tens of thousands of rockets that can hit every part of Israel. But it is unlikely to risk an all-out war that would devastate Lebanon, which is already in the grip of a severe economic crisis and its own anti-government protests.

———

CYBERATTACKS AND OTHER POSSIBLE RETALIATION TACTICS

Security experts said cyberattacks were likely to be part of Iran’s retaliation. And while cautioning that the U.S. power grid is quite resilient, there are plenty of other opportunities for major disruption, they said.

Other potential targets include the financial sector, manufacturing, oil and gas plants and transit systems.

Iranian hackers carried out a series of disruptive attacks that knocked U.S. banks’ websites offline prior to the Obama administration’s 2015 nuclear deal.

“Our concern is essentially that things are going to go back to the way they were before the agreement,” said John Hultquist, director of intelligence analysis at the cybersecurity firm FireEye. “There are opportunities for them to cause us real disruption.”

Iran has also been doing a lot of probing of U.S. industrial systems in recent years — trying to gain access — but has limited its destructive attacks to targets in the Middle East such as the Saudi oil company, experts say.

STRIKING THE GULF

Rather than unleashing its proxies, Iran might respond on its own by targeting U.S. allies in the Gulf and their oil infrastructure. The U.S. blamed Iran for a sophisticated attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities in September that temporarily halved its oil production.

The U.S. also blamed Iran for the sabotage of oil tankers last year in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil passes. Iran denied those allegations, but acknowledged shooting down a U.S. surveillance drone in June.

Iran could also retaliate by abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal, which has gradually come unraveled since Trump withdrew from the agreement in May 2018 and restored crippling sanctions.

Iran has already openly breached some of its commitments in response to the sanctions and could announce a major new drive to enrich uranium.

———

SOUND AND FURY?

There’s also the possibility, amid all the dire predictions, that Iran does nothing, at least for now.

Israel, for one, does not appear terribly concerned. Authorities closed a ski resort near the borders with Lebanon and Syria, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a trip to Greece, but there have been no other security measures or any talk of calling up reserves.

“I think the Iranians are shocked now,” said Yoel Guzansky, an expert on Iran at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank.

Iran and its allies have lost several other senior commanders over the years. While they always vow revenge, they usually add that it will happen at a time and place of their choosing — and the crisis passes.

For example, Hezbollah vowed revenge after one of its top commanders, Imad Mughniyeh, was killed in a bombing in Damascus that the group blamed on Israel. That was in 2008, and while the group has traded fire with Israel since then, it has not carried out any major attacks.

Then again, there’s no real precedent for the killing of a figure like Soleimani.

Joost Hiltermann, the Middle East program director at the Crisis Group, an international think tank, says “we could see a war.”

“They have put themselves in a corner. They will have to respond,” he said.

———

Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Fadi Tawil and A.J. Naddaff in Beirut, and Samya Kullab in New York contributed.

Sahred From Source link World News

from WordPress http://bit.ly/36r67V6 via IFTTT

[warmania]

Vodafone Summer Packs from Marwan Imam on Vimeo.

Creative and Production: Peace Cake Director: Marwan Imam Creative: Marwan Imam/Ahmed Safi DoP: Khaled Kamel Producer: Mohamed El Sherif AD: Tasnim Mustafa Production manager: Islam Sherif Art Director Salma Jalabi / Moharram Stylist: Islam El Refaie Editor: Sherif Samy Color: Mostafa Medhat VFX: The Post Office Sound Mix: Fady Garas VO: Khaled Mansour Executive Producer: Kareem Gamroor/Ahmed Youssef

[edelsonlaw-blog]

Fady Mansour | Top Criminal Lawyer Ottawa

Fady Mansour is a criminal lawyer with Edelson & Friedman LLP. His areas of law include criminal litigation, professional discipline and firearms law.

[m1d9]

dear can you suggest me some good names preferably starting from A and W for a baby boy ☺️☺️

That’s a lot of names, I’ll give you ones I know of okay ? I can’t think of that many 😂 Abdullah, Abdulrahman, Adam, Anwar, Ahmed, Abdulaziz, Badr, Bandr, Daniyal,Elias, Essam, Faisal, Fares, Fawaz, Fayez, Fadi, Fahad, Gabriel, Hani, Hadi, Idrees,Imran,Ibrahim, Isa, Jaafar, Kareem, Kadin, Khalil, Laith, Luay, Lut, Muhammad, Maheer, Malik, Mansour, Mahdi,Mahmood, Nawaf, Nayef, Naif, Noah (Nuh), Nasser, Nader, Omar, Qabil, Qadr, Qadir, Qadi, Qais, Rashid, Raed, Raem, Rayan, Rakan, Rami, Saad, Sami, Saleh, Tarek, Talal, Umran, Wadi, Yosef, Yonus Yaassin, Yacoob, Yahya, Yaqin, Yaser, YazanThat’s all I can think of

[nedsecondline]

Nearly 300 Intellectuals Mobilize Against the Rise of a ‘Fascist Climate’ in Lebanon

The following text is translated from the original article in L’Orient Le Jour and entitled ‘Près de 300 intellectuels se mobilisent contre l’émergence d’un « climat fasciste » au Liban‘. Note that the petition is still open so there are more names being added as we speak. For the Arabic version, click here.

This initiative comes after the polemic surrounding refugees that has degenerated in the past two weeks on social media, notably after the death under torture of Syrian detainees, an issue brought up by many human rights organizations in the aftermath of a raid launched by the Lebanese authorities in Arsal refugee camp.

The polemic was quickly replaced by a wave of hatred accompanied by a xenophobic discourse and culminating in a video showing Lebanese citizens beating up a Syrian refugee, men who were later arrested.

Journalist, writer and poet Youssef Bazzi, who is among those at the origin of the petition, explains that “the objective is not only to rise up against ongoing racist practices”. “Beware! A fascist climate, a militaristic and repressive climate, is slowly taking place. It does not merely aim at supporters of the Syrian revolution or at those who oppose Hezbollah’s interference in Syria”, Bazzi tells L’Orient-Le-Jour, adding that Lebanon is currently suffering from power dynamics in Syrian, currently favoring the Syrian regime and Hezbollah.

Youssef Bazzi adds:

“This climate is an extension of a political atmosphere recently created by those in power, by a political elite that, despite its differences, agrees to remain in power. There exists as well a will to smother any attempts by the civil society to address important topics such as the defense of the constitution, the rule of law, civil liberations and the public order. The problem is therefore not limited to racist practices towards refugees, it goes back to the very essence of our Lebanese identity. Must our identity be compartmentalized and full of hate, or founded on values?”

For the writer, it goes without saying that Lebanese society needs to multiply its cultural, legal, political and humanitarian initiatives to create a real public opinion and reverse the rising trend.

The letter reads:

We, the underlined Lebanese activists, writers, intellectuals, journalists and artists, based on our faith in a Lebanon of freedom, pluralism and that respects human rights, and on our conviction that the national army must be the only armed entity in this country, categorically reject and condemn certain disgusting practices against Syrian civilians that were forced to find refuge in Lebanon.

What follows these practices, such as the campaigns of incitement to hatred against Syrians across social media and in certain media outlets, or via declarations by certain politicians, is no less ugly as the criminal practices themselves. These do not just attack Syrians but the image of Lebanon itself and the conscience of the Lebanese. This does not represent us, but puts us in front of extreme options, including the need to purge our patriotism from its chauvinism. The position adopted towards refugees must become one of the criteria of our patriotism through which we want to consolidate democracy and the respect of human rights.

List of signatories so far [If possible, I would like to add my name to the list]

Ahmad Ismaïl, Ahmad Soueissi, Ahmad Issawi, Ahmad Kaabour, Ahmad Fayçal Sankari, Ahmad Mrad, Oussama Wehbé, Ismaïl Charafeddine, Akram Zaatari, Akram Arawi, Akram Mahmoud Mahmoud, Alexandra Habib, Alexandre Paulikevitch, Élias Bejjani, Élias Khoury, Élias Fawz, Aline Milad el-Chami, Amal Takouch, Émile Menhem, Indira Matar, Antoine Abou Zeid, Antoine Haddad, Antoine Courban, Aya Naboulsi, Élie el-Hage, Ayman Hmeïdane, Ayman Nahlé, Bachar Haïdar, Bachar Ziad Halabi, Béchara Charbel, Béchara Atallah, Paul Taber, Bachir Osmat, Boutros Moawad, Bikr Solh, Bissane el-Cheikh, Taymour Brich, Thaër Ghandour, Jad Yateem, Jacqueline Saad, Jean-Pierre Frangié, Jamal Assi, Joumana Haddad, Jamil Hammoud, Georges Massouh, Joseph Badaoui, Gisèle Khoury, Hazem el-Amine, Hazem Saghiyé, Habib Bzeih, Habib Nassar, Habib Darwiche, Houssam Itani, Hassane Hammoud, Hanna Saleh, Hassan Chami, Hassan Kotb, Hassan Krayem, Khaled Hussein el-Houjeiri, Khaled Sbeih, Khaled Izzi, Khaled Yassine, Dalia Obeid, Dana Kahil, Dalal Bizri, Diana Moukalled, Diala Haïdar, Dima Charif, Dima Krayem, Raëd Abou Chacra, Rached Fayed, Rania Jaroudi, Racha el-Atrache, Racha el-Amir, Rafic Ftouh, Roula Mouwaffaq, Rana Eid, Rana Najjar, Rony el-Assaad, Rayane Maged, Rima Maged, Rim el-Jundi, Rima Nakhel, Rida el-Maoula, Rawan Halaoui, Raëd Bou Hamdane, René Moawad, Rouba Beydoun, Roudeina Baalbacki, Zaki Taha, Zahia Safa, Ziad Maged, Ziad Abdel Samad, Ziad Antar, Zeina Mansour, Tarek Tamim, Tarek Succariyé, Tarek Hawa, Talal Khoury, Ralal Tohmé, Tony Chakar, Tony Francis, Sara Chahine, Salem Maarabouni, Samer Dabliz, Saad Faour, Saoud el-Maoula, Samar Mogharbel, Semaan Khawam, Samir Zaatiti, Samir Alwane, Sanaa Salhab, Siham Harb, Souhail Nasser, Sawsan Abou Zohr, Célina Hamadé, Chadi Hanouche, Charles Chehwane, Chadha Charafeddine, Shirine Abou Chacra, Sobhi Amhaz, Sobhi Mahdi Abdallah, Souhaid Jawhar, Abbas Abou Zeid, Abbas el-Jawhari, Abbas Nasser, Abdel Rahmane Ayyas, Abdel Ghani Imad, Abdallah Haddad, Abdel Mottaleb Bakri, Abdel Nasser Succariyé, Abed Kreidiyé, Abdel Wahhab Badirkhan, Adnane Salamé, Izzat Charara Beydoun, Akl Awit, Ali Ahmad Rabah, Ali el-Hajj Sleimane, Ali el-Sayyed, Ali el-Merhebi, Ali Hajo, Ali Hammoura, Ali Zaraket, Ali Charafeddine, Ali Tayy, Ali Cheaib, Ali Izzeddine, Ali Mohammad Hassan el-Amine, Ali Mrad, Ali Makki, Imad Dirani, Imad el-Chidiac, Imad Ftouh, Imad Komeiha, Omar Harkouss, Ghada Araïbi, Ghita Daher, Fady Toufeily, Fady Toufic, Fady Melhem, Farès Khachane, Farouk Yaacoub, Fatima Houhou, Fatima Mourtada, Firas Abou Hatoum, Fadil Hammoud, Fouad el-Mokaddem, Fouad Salamé, Fawzi Zebiane, Fawzi Ferry, Fawzi Yammine, Kassem Kassir, Kassi Charara, Kamal Aziz Nassif, Chrystelle Khodr, Lokman Slim, Louma Rabah, Luna Safwan, Layla Masri Jundi, Liliane Daoud, Lina Sahhab, Mark Daou, Maria Georges Khayssi, Maher Abou Chacra, Maher Itani, Maya Khadra, Maya Fidawi, Mike Ayyache, Mohsen Hussein, Moustapha Ahmad, Moustapha el-Turk, Moustapha Fahs, Mohammad Ahmad Choumane, Mohammad el-Houjeiri, Mohammad el-Aziz, Mohammad Anouar Baassiri, Mohammad Badawi, Mohammad Chami, Mohammad Chbaro, Mohammad Awada, Mohammad Mekkaoui, Mohammad Mikati, Mohammad Hammoud, Mahmoud Soueid, Mahmoud Doha, Mohammad Kassem, Marwan Abi Samra, Marwan Georges el-Najjar, Massoud Younès, Motaz Fakhreddine, Makram Rabah, Manar Wehbé, Manale Nahhas, Mona Jahami, Mona Khoueiss, Mona Fayad, Mohannad el-Hage Ali, Maha Bidawi, Maha Aoun, Monica Borgmann Slim, Mirella Salamé, Michel Hajji Georgiou, Michel Doueihy, Mayssam Hindi, Mimosa Arawi, Nader Fawz, Nafeh Saad, Nadine Labaki, Nadine Ferghol, Nahed Youssef, Nabil Halabi, Nabil Ismaïl, Nabil Abdel Fattah, Nada Abdel Samad, Nadim Houry, Nadim Koteich, Nehmé Mahfoud, Nawal Moudallali, Nour Blok, Hani Minkara, Hachem Adnane, Hoda Husseini Fayed, Hoda Chehabeddine, Hicham Bou Nassif, Hicham Zeineddine, Hanaa Jaber, Hind Darwish, Hovic Habchian, Hiyam Halawi, Haytham Chamas, Haytham Hilal, Wassef Khalaf, Wadih Mazraani, Wissam Saadé, Walid Hussein, Walid Fakhreddine, Yakzan Takki, Yorgi Tayrouz, Youssef el-Khalil, Youssef Bazzi et Yolla el-Hage.

Filed under: Politics & Society

[biofunmy]

Cycle of revenge: What’s next after killing of Iran general?

JERUSALEM — The unprecedented killing of Iran’s top general in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq has sent shockwaves across the Middle East, with Iran and its allies vowing revenge amid fears of an all-out war.

But while they have vast arsenals and are within striking distance of U.S. troops deployed in Syria, Iraq and the Gulf, Iran may be wary of launching a retaliatory attack that could ignite a major conflict.

The targeted attack on Friday could give them pause by signaling that the mercurial President Donald Trump is willing to wield U.S. military power in dramatic and unforeseen ways.

The slain general, Qassem Soleimani, was a towering figure who mobilized heavily-armed militias across the region against the United States and its allies, extending Iran’s influence to the Mediterranean.

His death was a major blow to Iran and led nearly everyone from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on down to vow massive retaliation.

“There will be for sure a reaction from Iran’s side and the axis of resistance, but the question is where, when and how,” said Ibrahim Bayram, an analyst with Lebanon’s daily An-Nahar. “I think the Iranians are precise and know how to direct the hit.”

Here is a look at possible scenarios going forward:

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AMERICA OUT OF IRAQ

The most immediate repercussions are likely to be felt in Iraq, where the airstrike — which also killed a top Iraqi militia commander — was seen as an assault on the country’s sovereignty.

Iraq’s parliament will meet for an emergency session Sunday. On Saturday, the country’s powerful Iran-backed militias will hold a funeral in Baghdad that thousands are expected to attend.

The targeted killing is likely to strengthen Iran-backed forces and political factions in the face of anti-government protesters who oppose Tehran’s influence. Iran’s allies can now present themselves as upholding national sovereignty against foreign aggression.

Iraq’s government, which has maintained an uneasy alliance with both Washington and Tehran, will come under mounting pressure to expel the 5,200 American troops who are in the country to help prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group.

Restricting or expelling American troops on Iraqi soil is a likely immediate impact option, according to Renad Mansour, a research fellow at the London-based international affairs think tank Chatham House.

“I think it would be hard for any Iraqi government official making a claim to keep American troops after this,” Mansour said. If America goes, he added, other diplomatic missions might follow.

That would place Iraq even more firmly in Iran’s camp, alongside Syria and Lebanon, and fulfill a goal Soleimani had pursued since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

But it might not be enough.

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REGIONAL PRESSURE POINTS

Over the last decade, Soleimani had mobilized tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters in Syria and Iraq, who have battled alongside President Bashar Assad in Syria’s civil war and fought the Islamic State group in both countries.

The United States has relatively small deployments of troops in both countries who could be targeted in revenge attacks. The latest escalation began last week when a rocket attack blamed on an Iran-backed Iraqi militia killed a U.S. contractor.

The U.S. responded with a wave of airstrikes that killed 25 militiamen in Iraq and Syria, and the militiamen then staged two days of violent protests at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. No one was hurt in the protests, but demonstrators breached the embassy compound.

Iran could also exact revenge through allies further afield, in Lebanon, Yemen or the Gaza Strip.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group dominates Lebanon and has an arsenal of tens of thousands of rockets that can hit every part of Israel. But it is unlikely to risk an all-out war that would devastate Lebanon, which is already in the grip of a severe economic crisis and its own anti-government protests.

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CYBERATTACKS AND OTHER POSSIBLE RETALIATION TACTICS

Security experts said cyberattacks were likely to be part of Iran’s retaliation. And while cautioning that the U.S. power grid is quite resilient, there are plenty of other opportunities for major disruption, they said.

Other potential targets include the financial sector, manufacturing, oil and gas plants and transit systems.

Iranian hackers carried out a series of disruptive attacks that knocked U.S. banks’ websites offline prior to the Obama administration’s 2015 nuclear deal.

“Our concern is essentially that things are going to go back to the way they were before the agreement,” said John Hultquist, director of intelligence analysis at the cybersecurity firm FireEye. “There are opportunities for them to cause us real disruption.”

Iran has also been doing a lot of probing of U.S. industrial systems in recent years — trying to gain access — but has limited its destructive attacks to targets in the Middle East such as the Saudi oil company, experts say.

STRIKING THE GULF

Rather than unleashing its proxies, Iran might respond on its own by targeting U.S. allies in the Gulf and their oil infrastructure. The U.S. blamed Iran for a sophisticated attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities in September that temporarily halved its oil production.

The U.S. also blamed Iran for the sabotage of oil tankers last year in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil passes. Iran denied those allegations, but acknowledged shooting down a U.S. surveillance drone in June.

Iran could also retaliate by abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal, which has gradually come unraveled since Trump withdrew from the agreement in May 2018 and restored crippling sanctions.

Iran has already openly breached some of its commitments in response to the sanctions and could announce a major new drive to enrich uranium.

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SOUND AND FURY?

There’s also the possibility, amid all the dire predictions, that Iran does nothing, at least for now.

Israel, for one, does not appear terribly concerned. Authorities closed a ski resort near the borders with Lebanon and Syria, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a trip to Greece, but there have been no other security measures or any talk of calling up reserves.

“I think the Iranians are shocked now,” said Yoel Guzansky, an expert on Iran at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank.

Iran and its allies have lost several other senior commanders over the years. While they always vow revenge, they usually add that it will happen at a time and place of their choosing — and the crisis passes.

For example, Hezbollah vowed revenge after one of its top commanders, Imad Mughniyeh, was killed in a bombing in Damascus that the group blamed on Israel. That was in 2008, and while the group has traded fire with Israel since then, it has not carried out any major attacks.

Then again, there’s no real precedent for the killing of a figure like Soleimani.

Joost Hiltermann, the Middle East program director at the Crisis Group, an international think tank, says “we could see a war.”

“They have put themselves in a corner. They will have to respond,” he said.

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Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Fadi Tawil and A.J. Naddaff in Beirut, and Samya Kullab in New York contributed.

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