re: Beirut: Wedding photo shoot video captures blast

Aloha Snackbar

That’s insane. Her gown actual flew back from the concussion!

She’s beautiful for sure but would look so much better without inch long hair sticking out of her eyes. I dunno why women stick those things on thinking they look good. Lipstick too, looks horrible in all cases.

Unreal.

NB4 Corn-on-the-cob/picket fence

Well, her wedding night is going to pale in comparison to that excitement.

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The only thing we differ on is terminology.

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With regard to demographics, it’s important to be precise. The Lebanese don’t officially count the refugees (nor does Jordan, Turkey, or Iran, the other countries in the region who have taken in millions of refugees from various conflicts, instead leaving that work to NGOs whose estimates can vary widely). Saad Hariri, in 2015 or so, started threatening to give Palestinians citizenship wholescale, which would have titled the demographics to the Sunni Muslims. The porous border issue is in fact the reason for the Sheba’s Farms issue, as if the border was not well-demarcated even after French administration, which attempted to sub-divide what was once Ottoman Syria.

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They are still causing the destruction of both countries

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The more immediate prevailing cause for Lebanon’s problems is an insanely corrupt ruling class. The Hariri’s, the Maronite elite (including people like Bassil), Shia gangsters, and everyone in between have far more to do with Lebanon’s financial predicament than Syrians. For a time, gangsterism was such a problem that it even extended into the diaspora, like the Mhallami gang, one of many Lebanese gangs that operate in Germany.

Regardless, I’m extremely skeptical that Syrians ever outnumbered the Palestinian refugees before the SCW, and the trend line of refugees has moved downward, according to estimates, from a high of 2 million in 2014 to around 800k now. Given the relative weakness of Lebanon in state capacity, I expect it will continue to be dominated by its neighbors, as it could become a possible flashpoint for influence between the Gulf Arabs and the Turks, now that Syria is severely weakened.

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What I have leaned is that everyone has their own version of the story when it comes to Lebanon

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Ascribing common causes for the West’s supposed decline, such as multiculturalism and immigration, to Lebanon is especially spurious, considering the genetic data we have suggests that upwards of 90% of the Lebanese population are directly descended from ancient Canaanite and Phoenician populations which lived in the region, and the Y-DNA haplogroup (J2) again suggests contact with sea-faring peoples of Asia Minor to Crete to Cyprus to the Levant. There are more prevailing reasons for Lebanon’s issues. The region, diverse as it was, was relatively peaceful under Turkish rule, though the breakdown of the millet system can be traced, in part, to the Mt. Lebanon Civil War, which spurred mostly Christian immigration to the West. The Israeli-Palestine situation has been devastating for the country, as it never had the appropriate infrastructure to deal with the mass migration of people over a short period of time. The implicit argument here is that Westphalian notions of statehood have been terrible for the ME, where the prevailing school of imperial administration lead to much longer periods of peace than we’ve seen in the Westphalian system.

Despite all this, Beirut is my favorite city in the MENA region.

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he bride reminds me so much of my now deceased Lebanese bride. Unfortunately, the bomb blast is very familiar too. Beirut is a beautiful city, and Lebanon is a beautiful country. So very very sad. Damn, this hurts me to my very core.
Back in the 40s Lebanon was about 80 percent, Christian. Now, I'd be willing to bet is getting close to 80 percent muzzie. Let this be a lesson about so-called "multiculturalism" and unfettered immigration.


When I was growing up we had a Lebanese family that lived up the street, they ran a furniture store and had 10 children.....great family. All the kids were lookers and pretty good in school......kinda jealous...lol

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Ex-wife was Lebanese

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The Israeli-Palestine situation has been devastating for the country, as it never had the appropriate infrastructure to deal with the mass migration of people over a short period of time. The implicit argument here is that Westphalian notions of statehood have been terrible for the ME, where the prevailing school of imperial administration lead to much longer periods of peace than we’ve seen in the Westphalian system.

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Lebanon's problems largely stem from the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Lebanon was economically prosperous and peaceful until it was swamped with waves of violent Palestinian refugees. With the backing of post-Islamic Revolution Iran, the Palestinians essentially plunged the entire country into Civil War, resulting in the demographics flipping from 70/30 Christian to 80/20 Muslim in like 30 years. The Palestinian Refugees destroyed that country, like they destroy everywhere they go in pursuit of their goal of annihilating Israel.

Since the 80's, it's only gotten worse. There were tons of refugees from the wars in Iraq and Syria which have poured in over the last 20 years to the point that Lebanese people are practically the minority in Lebanon. There are MORE REFUGEES THAN CITIZENS!

]The implicit argument here is that Westphalian notions of statehood have been terrible for the ME, where the prevailing school of imperial administration lead to much longer periods of peace than we've seen in the Westphalian system.

I've thought for a while now that the concept of the "nation-state," while being the bedrock of western civilization, is not applicable to much of the rest of the world in a positive way. While "good fences make good neighbors" in western societies, they just cause friction elsewhere. Maybe, rather than trying to change society, maybe the would-be change agents should go live in another society they don't feel the urge to change. Just sayin'

Like I said, I was married to one, and she was/and still is the sexiest, most gorgeous woman I've ever known. She is also the only person that ever loved me without any preconditions. I miss her terribly.