A post on Lebanese Tag offers informative details and images from the scene:

A car bomb exploded Monday near a military bus carrying troops on their way to work in northern Lebanon, killing at least five people and wounding 25, Lebanese security officials said.
The officials said most of the casualties were soldiers. It was the second deadly attack targeting troops in northern Lebanon in less than two months.
A senior military official told The Associated Press that three soldiers were among the dead, but had no breakdown of the number of injured among the troops.
The security officials said the car packed with explosives was parked on the side of the road and was detonated by remote control as the bus drove in the Bahsas neighborhood on the southern entrance to the northern port city of Tripoli.
They said the explosives used were mixed with metal balls to maximize casualties.

Middle East Watch, a news blog dedicated to the Middle East region also reports on the event not long after it happened:

Lebanon's LBC TV reports that the car-bomb was detonated by remote control just as the minibus carrying Lebanese Army soldiers went by. Those who were less seriously wounded were taken to Tripoli's main soccer stadium for treatment.  The explosion was the second targeting a Lebanese Army bus in less than two months. At least 18 people were killed, many of them soldiers, on August 13, when a bomb hidden inside a duffel bag exploded outside a passenger bus in Tripoli's city center.
Tripoli's Sunni-Muslim mufti Malek Sha'ar insists that those behind this lastest explosion were not from Lebanon and that they were attempting to sow discord inside the country. He said the people behind this act are trying to sow discord among Lebanon's different religious groups but he said all Lebanese will unite to fight this attack

Now Lebanon published a post rounding up responses from the Political figures upon hearing the news:

…Former PM Najib Mikati, who is from Tripoli, told LBC on Monday morning that the explosion was “a terrorist and criminal act against the army, who has been targeted since the Nahr al-Bared events…
…Marwan Hamadeh told LBC that the reconciliations in Tripoli did not remove weapons from the streets and did not stop explosions, “which were not planned in Lebanon, but which come from the outside…
…Interior Minister Ziad Baroud called for an exceptional meeting of the Central Security Council for Monday afternoon, and Police Brigadier General Antoine Shakur visited the site of the explosion in Tripoli.”

Rodge at Ouwet Front, posted his reaction to the Tripoli’s bus explosion, and accuses Syria for being the mastermind behind this incident in an effort to execute its regional agenda:

2 days after the explosion in Damascus, and about 45 days after the first one of its kind, here they are again, this morning an explosion hit a mini bus transporting Army soldiers and some civilians, some 10 killed or injured are reported, and I’m confident the same people planned and executed the 3 explosions.
Now the question should be what is the relation, and I think many of you girls and guys have already answered the question, cause it seems, and since the summer of 2007, the Syrians are trying all they can to return to Lebanon through the north gate, mainly Tripoli, and at the same time they are implementing their own part of the deal done with the Americans and Israelis, so they are assassinating some of the officers involved in Hariri’s death, while blame it on the extremists.

Holger Danske, who blogs at his personal space Holger Awakens, argues in his latest post that the hand behind today's explosion is Fatah Al-Islam which has been operating in north Lebanon for the past two years now:

…There is no question in my mind that this was the world of Fatah al Islam which is the al Qaeda linked group that vowed revenge against the government and its military after they were squashed in operations in northern Lebanon. Fatah al Islam is a Sunni group and of course, the landscape of Lebanon is dominated by Shia Hezbollah…
…The Lebanese have tried to sweep Fatah al Islam under the rug ever since last year but as we can see, they aren't going away and they certainly haven't given up their vow of revenge. I would have to say that this bombing is going to probably force the government into a huge crackdown in the nothern areas and if that happens, it could really get bloody - and not just with Fatah al Islam …

Manuela Paraipan posted an interesting article, discussing how extremists are benefiting from the instability in Lebanon and how the Army can't contain such groups due to the same reasons:

My point is that this group of extremists can be contained, but for that you need the army to go to the places well known to many in the country, take away the weapons [this time for real], put check points in the problematic areas, and the intelligence to keep them under surveillance. The problem is that here even when they act its a half measure. They need more approvals, more green lights from countless leaders, self called leaders, imaginary masters and so on. This type of mentality harms the security of the country. I have no reasonable explanation [I am not interested in excuses] for it.

After reading the news on her laptop in the morning, A Diamond in Sunlight reacts to the event while watching it from abroad:

And this morning the cheers stopped when I sleepily turned on my laptop to read the news over breakfast.

At first I didn’t quite believe it. I saw “Deadly blast rocks Lebanese city” on the BBC news site and thought: there’s something wrong with the BBC today. Its broadcasting old news - this bombing happened in August.

But it didn’t. I’m so sorry for the people of Tripoli, who already face the challenges of deep poverty and political powerlessness. And I am terribly sorry for the Army, whose soldiers and commanders do not need these terrorist attacks when they are trying to build a strong institution for all Lebanese to be proud of.

And blinkx.com uploaded a video clip capturing the scene moments after it happened while Friday Lunch Club linked to a picture that shows the blown up car and the targeted bus.

Lebanon stands out as a more tolerant space for homosexuality in the region compared to Saudi Arabia for example where homosexuality is often punished by flogging, life imprisonment and even beheading. Lebanon’s homosexuals enjoy the first association for gay people in the Middle East, called the Helem Foundation. In addition to that, Lebanon also has gay bars and nightclubs. But the real life for this section of the community is not paved with roses. A quick round up of blogs and spaces promoting this issue in Lebanon should give the reader a brief peek into how this community lives.

Mazaj at Majaz75 wrote about homosexuality in the Middle East and the role of religion in it, expressing his personal opinion on the matter:

Some people relate the attitude towards homosexuality in Arab countries to Islam, but that’s not completely true. Arabs, Muslims and Christians, consider homosexuality to be a sin. All Arabs are attached to religion; the Church and the Mosque have a key role in Arabs lives. Born as a Muslim, I feel it is very important to explain Islam’s and Sheiks’* views of homosexuality.

Some scriptures of the Quran, the Holy Book of Islam, were taken out of context, added to a Hadith** not correctly reported to Prophet Muhammad, and conveyed to Muslims by ignorant Sheiks to form a general look at homosexuality as a sin that is against the nature intended by god for humans. In this Hadith, gay guys caught in act are to be killed by throwing them down from the highest building in town. Considering that most buildings in most Arab peninsula’s towns were about 5-7 meters high at that time, this Hadith seems very ridiculous.

Majaz adds:

Being raised in a strict Muslim family, I struggled with my homosexuality in my early adolescent years, but I also had access to some rare Islamic scriptures, which allowed me to have a great look to how Islam dealt with homosexuality. I had come to the conclusion that Islam considers sexuality to be an identity, something to be born with. I also discussed this conclusion with well-known moderate Sheikhs, who confirmed it to me. Nevertheless, even the most moderate ones insisted that it is not acceptable to convey this fact about homosexuality in Islam to people for so many unconvincing reasons.

GayMiddleEast.com, a news site that focuses on the homosexual communities in the Middle East, posts an article written in a local Lebanese newspaper about an architect called Danny and his daily struggle in Lebanon as a homosexual:

Danny said he was open about his sexuality in Europe, but has been forced to keep a low profile in Lebanon mainly for two reasons: a non-tolerant society, and fear of his parents' reaction.

“Being gay in Lebanon is very hard,” he said.”I come from a highly conservative family, and if my parents knew about my sexuality it would be devastating for the both of us,” he said in a low, shaky tone. “I don't want to ever think about their reaction if they knew.” Danny added that he has never tried to be open with any of his friends about his sexuality, saying he preferred to stay “in the closet” for the time being.

“I can never consider being open about my sexuality over here,” he said, explaining it might cause him a lot of trouble, especially at work.

“I have seen how colleagues at work react when they encounter a person who they suspect is gay,” he said. “They avoid him as if he has a disease, and even harass him sometimes.”

Another post by GayMiddleEast.com refers to few incidents that occurred a couple of years ago regarding two social clubs known for their homosexual crowd:

On the night of November 12, 2005, 6 men were arrested in Acid nightclub, a known gay venue in Sin el Fil. No charges were pressed against them. The detainees were released after 3 days of detention. Although no physical abuse was reported, the police were verbally abusive towards the men.

A week later, another known gay club, X-OM, was raided. The police checked IDs and inquired about drug use in the venue. No arrests took place that night.

Acid and X-OM were probably targeted by the police for their openly gay clientele, although legally they had no pretext for any arrests. Article 534 of the Lebanese penal code explicitly states that “penetrative sex against nature” is punishable by law, and not homosexuality per se or the adoption of a gay identity. Laws against public indecency may be enforced if excessive displays of affection or other such behavior is witnessed, but this does not entail the same sort.

Meem, a community of lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, queers and questioning women in Lebanon, moderates a blog where members can post and share experiences and news. Pazuzu, in her post, shares a personal experience she went through while walking home one night:

Well, I passed by a couple of guys, one those men that scare you (or is it any man that scares you when you are in my situation?). Anyway, typically the first sign of your vulnerability in these situations is that the predators start discussing you in your face:

- Bint yamma sabe hayda?

And for our non Arabic readers :

- Is he a boy or a girl?

But it’s fine I guess, it wasn’t the first time that my sexual identity was questioned, though I didn’t look particularly boyish that day. The real treat was when the second guy opens his mouth. I guess he was encouraged by his friend’s attitude, thinking maybe I am a boy that likes to look like girls, to be honest, I am not sure what he was thinking but he said to me:

-Baddak nitsalla? Ta3a nitsalla

Again, respecting the non Arabic readers:

-Wanna have fun? Let’s have fun together

Al Jaras, a local Lebanese TV station, was commenting over some photos of Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres’ wedding when Jexy at Meem's blog realized that in addition to pronouncing Portia's name wrong, the TV presenter went on insulting the homosexuals in general as she describes it:

The first thing that was on my mind: “Seriously you dummy! You wanna trash them? Fine! But at least get the names right!”. And what added up, she was talking at the same time about the Indian man that married a certain animal! Is this where we belong? In the same category of man/animal marriage!? She kept displaying the photos over and over again, adding up “Hayda dod el din [this is a sin]!“. The heavenly angels assigned her to label people and decide what’s wrong and what’s against religion! I wanted to call and ask her: “Honey, if the sight of Ellen and “Borita” sickens you this much…why do u keep displaying them?” But then again, every word she was saying was showing nothing but IGNORANCE.

Learn more about the gay community in Lebanon by visiting Helem Association and Meem Foundation.

The media plays a huge rule in preserving the stability that the Al–Saud aim to maintain. Not a long time ago, the Saudi government restricted televised broadcasts into two main channels (owned and run by the government). One was in Arabic and the other in English. When the cable and satellite broadcast networks were developed around the world, the Saudis made it clear that purchasing such equipment is prohibited and banned by law. Nonetheless, smugglers and well connected individuals managed to acquire this new technology which slowly began to surface in every household.

While the rest of the Arab world began to adopt this technology and update their broadcast range and reach, Saudi Arabia in an attempt to catch up with the region's fast pace allowed the use of this new trend and soon updated its own channels to broadcast internationally.  Although over the past few years, lectures and social awareness campaigns were promoted by the Saudi government to prevent the influence of Western cultures and anti-Islamic habits deemed corrupting to the Islamic communities, there wasn’t a single incident of an extreme ruling that could be compared to the latest fatwa (religious decree).

Sheikh Saleh Al-Laheedan, the head of the Saudi Supreme Judiciary Council, issued a fatwa that makes it permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV networks that broadcast immoral content. And although the Sheikh didn’t specify any particular channels, this announcement created a wave of controversy and attacks from the international and western media in particular, as well as Arab media and bloggers. And even though the Sheikh issued another statement, following the worldwide response, in which he clarified his original fatwa as not to kill people randomly but bring them to justice and issue the death penalty if they were found guilty, it didn’t calm or answer some people’s frustration and questions.

Ali Alomari posted a video of the fatwa declared by the Sheikh and backed its message up, since in his opinion a change is needed in society to maintain an open mind without compromising Islamic values:

فتوى واضحة في مدلولها, صريحة في لغتها, ومتفقة تمام الاتفاق مع روح الإسلام؛ تلك التي أصدرها سماحة الشيخ صالح اللحيدان -رئيس مجلس القضاء الأعلى وعضو هيئة كبار العلماء- عبر إذاعة القرآن الكريم من المملكة العربية السعودية؛ حيث أفتى -سماحته- بجواز قتل مّلاك القنوات الفضائية الهابطة “قضاء” إذا قدر على منعهم فلم يمتنعوا ولم يمكن دفع شرهم بعقوبة دون القتل…

The fatwa by his Eminence Sheikh Saleh Al-Laheedan is clear in its message and purpose and is in line with Islam's spirit. His fatwa decress that the killing of the owners of satellite channels which broadcast immoral material is their destiny. If they are warned and chose to disregard such warnings, then there are no other ways to stop their evil doing than by killing them.”

In his post regarding the fatwa, Yaser Al-Ghaslan took the opportunity to address the Sheikh by asking him to be more transparent in his future speeches and requested that future fatwas should shed the light on more day to day issues that are more critical and real to many Muslims in the region:

لن اطالب هنا بأن لا يفتي فضيلتة في القضايا التي يراها حساسة رغم ظروف الوطن المختلفه و لن اطالبه بأن يقدم مصلحة الوطن و الشعب على ما يمليه ضميرة الديني تجاه القضايا التي يراها مفسده و خروج عن الدين، بل أطلب أن يكون واضحا و شفافا في فتاويه القادمه بخصوص قضايا بلادنا الحقيقية و التي تمس الناس مباشرة مثل غلاء الأسعار و موقف الشرع حول أفضل طرق الوقايه من الغلاء و تقديم النصح للناس من أجل عيشه كريمة، كما اطلب من فضيلته أن يفتي بضرورة محاسبة المسئولين المقصرين صراحة و أن يكون مباشرا في نقده و فتواه و تقديم النصح بدلا من الحديث في العموم و إطلاق الأحكام العمومية

I am not here to question the Sheikh's wisdom or intentions. I am asking him to take issues that effect people directly with a clearer approach and speeches, issues such as the ever rising prices of goods and the best ways to deal with providing our citizens with decent living conditions. I also ask of him to direct the blame on those responsible with all honesty in his criticism and fatwas instead of generalizing.

Ibrahim Hudhaif's post on this issue was more of a response to a piece by writer Turki Al-Hamad, where the latter expressed his disgust at how the human life is so cheap:

يقول الكاتب تركي الحمد … هل صار الإنسان بهذا الرخص؟ وهل أصبح الحكم بالقتل بهذه السهولة … وكأن المقتول دجاجة؟ ثم ينهي كلامه ويقول المحرض على القتل فهو قاتل!!! انتهى
أين هؤلاء عندما تقصف أمريكا عرسا في أفغانستان ويسقط الأبرياء بسبب معلومات خاطئة قدمت لهم … هل صار الإنسان بهذا الرخص؟
أين هؤلاء عندما قتلت أمريكا أكثر من مليون عراقي في العراق … هل أصبح الإنسان رخيصا لهذه الدرجة يا تركي؟
أم أين هم عندما عذبت امريكا المعتقلين بسجن أبو غريب واستخدمت شتى أنواع الذل والمهانه تجاه المعتقلين … ويحاكم جندي واحد فقط ويسجن كم شهر!!! … لهذه الدرجة الإنسان رخيصا يا أديبهم … سبحان الله

Writer Turki Al-Hamad asks when did the human life become so cheap and easily disposed and compares it to killing a chicken, and ends his piece claiming that the those who promote killing are killers as well.

Let me ask you Turki, where were those attacking the Sheikh's fatwa when the US bombed a wedding in Afghanistan based on false intelligence?! Is human life that cheap?!
Were were they when the US killed more than a million citizens in Iraq? Is human life that cheap?! Where were those voices when the US tortured the prisoners in Abo Ghareeb and used all sorts of humiliation methods while questioning them? And at the end only one US soldier were accused in court and sentenced for few months in jail?! Is life that cheap Turki?!

Blogging to tackle the issue behind the fatwa rather the fatwa itself, Abed Al Aziz Al Sweed writes his post admitting he didn't listen or watch the Sheikh's speech but he is more interested in the core of the issue:

ما أتمناه ألا تنشغل الصحافة بظاهر الفتوى وإثارة صحافية “مغرية” فيها، بل علينا تجاوز ذلك، إلى اللب والأسباب. لقد كتب الكثير عن الفضائيات والمسؤولية الأخلاقية التي يجب أن تحكم أعمالها وتؤطر نشاطها إلا أن كل هذا، وهو عصارة رأي عام مستهدف من القنوات يجب أن يعطى حقه الأخلاقي… لم يحرك ساكناً ويحدث تغييراً يذكر في برامج تلك الوسائل الإعلامية، بل أن الاستمرار شجع على تزايد توالد فضائيات أقل ما يقال عنها إنها مخجلة بحثاً عن الربح السهل السريع.

What I am really hoping for here is for the media to avoid exhausting its resources on the this post-fatwa frenzy for commercial gains, and actually pay more attention to the reasons and elements building to this fatwa. A lot of these broadcasting networks were questioned in the past regarding their ethics and responsibilities on what they are broadcasting and promoting, but those questions came back empty handed. And unfortunately such disregard in the past encouraged the multiplication of those networks, and the least I can say is that they merely are a shameful display running behind easy financial gains.

Ahmad Ba Aboud, asks himself personal questions implied by this controversy, and while finding his answers he states that such an incident proves how behind the community has become in the absence of tolerance and intellectual debates that could have saved the country from sinking into such useless controversies:

- حتى لو توقفت القنوات التي يملكها سعوديون عن بث ما يحوي الخلاعة و المجون، من سيمنع الناس من مشاهدة القنوات الأخرى التي ستستمر في بث ما تشاء لمن يريد!.
- و لو فرضنا أن كل القنوات العربية توقفت عن بث الخلاعة و المجون، من سيمنع الناس من مشاهدة القنوات الأجنبية التي تبث على الأقمار الصناعية التي يصل بثها للدول العربية؟
- من سيوقف ما يوجد في الأنترنت من محتويات غير أخلاقية و تحمل صفات المجون و الخلاعة؟
- أليس من حق الناس أن تشاهد و تحكم بنفسها و تقرر ما تشاهده و ما تمتنع عنه؟
- كيف يمكن المطالبة بوقف قنوات التسلية و التي تبث الخلاعة و المجون في ظل شح وسائل الترفية و النشاطات الإجتماعية في السعودية؟ أين سيذهب الناس في أوقات فراغهم؟.
- إلى أي حد يجب على السلطات أن تتدخل في مواجهة ما قد ينظر إليه البعض على أنه خطر على المجتمع (متمثلاً هنا في صورة القنوات المتهمة بالمجون و الخلاعة) و بأي صورة يكون هذا التدخل؟.

Even if the Saudi-owned channels stopped broadcasting the programs in question here, what will withhold people from switching to other channels?
Even is all the Arabic TV channels shut down these provocative programs, what will stop the viewers from switching to foreign channels?
What about the internet and its content that is full of indecent material? Who can control that?
Don't people have the right to watch and then judge what they consider worthy?
In a country like Saudi Arabia, where the absence of recreational activities and spaces is being compensated with watching and interacting with entertainment programs on TV, what will people do in their free time once these programs are shut down?
How far should the authorities go in their effort to cleanse what they deem threatening to the community's values?

Bassam Sebati posted an article reflecting his disapproval of this fatwa and possible link to the recent killing of 4 journalist working at a TV show in Iraq:

It seems it was not enough what the Wahabis did since they hijacked Islam and Saudi Arabia, but also they continue to be the source of most of the mayhem across the Middle East. They just don't stop spreading hatred and murder for any reason they find right before their eyes…

…One day after this evil verdict, assassins killed four TV journalists from Iraq's Al-Sharqiyah Satellite TV channel while filming a show about feeding the fasting people in the holy month of Ramadan. The show called, “Breaking Your Fast Is on Us,” is a popular TV show, widely watched by many Iraqis during the holy month. The TV channel picks families who have financial difficulties and make them a huge meal of Iftar, along with other presents like house equipments, including refrigerators, stoves, ovens, TV-sets, etc.

I don't know if the killing of these journalists is linked to what that evil Sheikh issued, but it seems it's not disconnected. It's wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong and should be stopped.

Menassat.com published an article that rounds up reports by some major media networks about Al-Laheedan's fatwa.

The two parties which clashed are the anti-Syrian Lebanese Forces and the pro-Syrian Marada movement. Marada’s Youseef Frangieh and the Lebanese Forces’ Pierre Isaac were the two identified bodies at the crime scene. Based on the initial report from scene, the clash occurred over a poster promoting a mass organized by the Lebanese Forces that was being placed in Bsarma near the Marada's Headqaurter. When those hanging the banner were asked to take it down, shots were fired from one side and met with retaliation from the other side ending with the death of the two citizens and party members.

Once the news began to circulate in the media and make headlines, theories on this incident being nothing more than a revenge episode orchestrated by some Lebanese Forces’ members against Youseef Frangieh surfaced, especially after Frangieh came out publicly on a local TV station announcing his part in shooting the Lebanese Force’s current leader Samir Geagea back in the 70s during the civil war in an attempt to stop an operation co-led by Geagea.

Historically the two parties in question here share a bloody background and armed clashes that can be traced over 30 years. Many Lebanese regards current party leaders as civil war warlords whose current political groups are merely a front display with an armed militia behind it.

Both The Marada and The Lebanese Forces are represented officially by websites backed by blog spaces. The Lebanese Forces’ official website published the televised press release of it is leader Samir Geagea:

“يجب أن نتحلى بالكثير من المسؤولية وقد باشرت اتصالاتي فور معرفتي بالخبر وقد اتصلت أولا برئيسي الجمهورية والحكومة ووزيري الدفاع والداخلية وقائد الجيش”.
ورأى “أن ما حدث في بصرما ليس عملا سياسيا ومنع السلاح يجب أن يكون على الجميع ومن ضمنها عناصرنا”، مقترحا “سيطرة الجيش ليصار الى منع التجمعات الحزبية حتى في المراكز الحزبية ومنع السلاح لان حياة انسان واحد اهم من كل المراكز الحزبية، وعلينا التحلي بالحكمة والروية”.

We must practice responsibility and I've immediately made phones calls to the government officials starting with President and the National Army commander as soon as I heard the news. What took place in Bsrama is not a political statement and all weapons and arms must be prohibited on all parties including the ours [Lebanese Forces]. The National Army should maintain the security to prevent such events and because a single human life value more than any political headquarter. And we must show wisdom and calm in such times.

On the other hand, Marada's official website published it's leader Suleiman Frangieh's speech:

نحن في عهد جديد. ما قبل إتفاق الدوحة غير ما بعد إتفاق الدوحة. عندنا رئيس جديد وعندنا وزير داخلية جديد وعندنا حكومة وفاق وطني وعندنا مشروع لبداية قيام الدولة، سنجرب ونحن نضع الأمور بيد رئيس الجمهورية وبيد القضاء اللبناني وأنا أثق بالقاضي جان فهد ولنرى ماذا سيحصل وعلى اساسها نعرف كيف نتصرف.

We are in a new era now. The Doha-Agreement has changed everything. We now have a new President, a new Interior Minister, along with a national conciliation government and have the beginnings of a state. The new government is step to rebuilding the country and we are going to try and leave the matter to the official departments and law enforcements and I trust the Judge Jan Fahad. We will wait and see what the outcome of investigation, and our response will be based on that outcome.

It is important to note that Marada's leader gave the government and its investigation team a 15 day period to issue its report and bring the responsible individuals to justice regardless of their political and diplomatic immunity or he would take matters into his own hands. Upon hearing the comment, Lebanese Forces' Geagea made it clear that his party doesn't like the threatening nature of this speech and that his party is capable of responding to such threats.

Al Owuet Front (Al Owuet is Arabic-Lebanese slang meaning Forces), a popular blog for Lebanese Forces' members and promoted on their official website posted a series of three articles so far updating its readers on the incident. Blogger N10452 who maintains the blog, posted the first article upon hearing the news:

I dont want to judge anyone’s intentions, i know what Marada militants are .. they are thugs and probably think shooting & killing is something common to do in the middle of an argument ..

But i also ask Samir Geagea and whomever is responsible in this village and the LF students head (forgot his name cause i barely hear about him doing anything, ya ma7la Spiro).

Why were those guys armed while sticking posters ?? whats the use of weapons when you are promoting for a mass for the martyrs ??

Why are those posters being hung so recklessly and randomly ?? it is unacceptable to glue them at people’s properties and its been done and its also being done excessively on public walls.

After the release of the Lebanese Forces' response to the Bsarma incident, N10452 posted again quoting a segment from the speech and criticizing it:

And the rest of the speech is even more pathetic ..
Calling for forgiveness [with] Frangieh and presenting his condoleances to the Frangieh & Isaac families and opening up to Marada ?? Whats next ?? signing a reconciliation ???

In his third post, the blogger's frustration post the incident is clearly evident in what he entitled: Inter-Christian deadly clashes - When will we learn ?:

Since the early 70s, rival Christian parties clashed and left behind many kills & injured. Sheikh Bashir Gemayel wanted to put an end to this in the late 70s and he almost managed to do so by uniting the militias even if he had to lead some deadly battles to do so.

In 1982, had he took over the presidency, he would have put an end once and for all to all sorts of militias in the country, but he was taken away from us sadly.
Nonetheless, since then, Christian parties never understood that disagreeing on opinions does not mean shooting at each other and killing one another, and apparently many people here are not getting my point …

Both groups have a military and a political history that is observed by some as a patriotic chapter in the Lebanese history while others regard it as war crimes, tinted with streams of events and agendas. In a country like Lebanon, when a single word like patriotism and resistance can be defined in more ways than Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary ever can, it seems all you have to do to spread enough chaos and instability and wait until someone does something stupid.

Remarkz's blogger Bech left us an interesting post that illustrates in his opinion the current events regarding the social campaigns and word-tricks used by some political parties that led might fuel more incidents like the one in Bsarama in the future.

The blast was covered by local and international media and more details on the incident are pending investigation. While the shock of this returning phenomenon of assassinations and the new targeted figures kept bloggers from analyzing much of its background and intentions, they reported the incident by whatever material they could find.

Liminal at Lebanon Heart Blogs posted a list of the assassinated figures in Lebanon and left it without a comment:

Assassinations
Feb 2005: Ex-PM Rafik Hariri
April 2005: MP Bassel Fleihan
June 2005: Anti-Syria journalist Samir Kassir
June 2005: Ex-Communist leader George Hawi
Dec 2005: Anti-Syria MP Gebran Tueni
Nov 2006: Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel
June 2007: Anti-Syria MP Walid Eido
Sep 2007: Anti-Syria MP Antoine Ghanim
Dec 2007: Army Gen Francois al-Hajj
Jan 2008: Police investigator Wissam Eid
Sep 2008: Pro-Syria MP Saleh Aridi

Reflecting back on an older incident, Manuela Paraipan links to an earlier article that represents the Druze's intentions to stick together in such times and circumstances:

In spite of the political differences when threatened Druze stick together. In May they have proven it yet again.  You can read an interesting account of May events here.

Eu4hell who blogs at Livejournal writes about this incident, focusing on the highlighted issue of this being the first assassination of a pro-Syrian figure. The post also includes a picture taken from the scene:

Wednesday's attack is the first deadly car bombing since January, when a security official investigating a series of political killings blamed on Syria was killed. Aridi is the first opposition politician to be assassinated since a string of politically motivated attacks against members of the parliamentary majority bloc began in late 2004

More pictures and reporting were posted by the Lebanese Tag:

The state-run National News Agency said the bomb was planted under the driver's seat of Aridi's car and detonated by remote control.
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat arrived at the victim's residence in Baysour shortly after the blast in a show of Druze solidarity and to pay his condolences.

Supporters of the Democratic Party opened fire from automatic rifles in the air, in the traditional way of expressing wrath, but no clashes were reported.

Security sources in the Aley Province, of which Baysour is part, said the situation is “under control.”

Sasa at Syrian News Wire reports on the incident and the significance of its location:

A main figure in Lebanon's opposition has been killed.
Druze politician Saleh Aridi has died in a bomb blast in Aley. He was an ally of Hezbollah - and his party (led by Talal Arslan) humiliated Junblatt in the fighting in May.
Aley is just outside Beirut, and is considered a stronghold of Walid Junblatt.
The two sides were due to come together on Monday to discuss their differences.

+961's blogger Rami posted a picture of the blown up car and wrote:

I don’t know since when Lebanese people started exchanging messages through dead bodies, but they should really stop it. It’s a dangerous habit because 6 other persons were injured yesterday during the message delivery.

Now Lebanon along side reporting the incident since day one,published an article rounding up the reactions of Lebanese officials to the assassination.

Tigermarks' opinion on the current situation in Lebanon focuses this week on General Aoun’s recent comments and press releases post the helicopter downing:

Of course, he is throwing this out there to try to overshadow the Hezbollah killing of the helicopter pilot, whether by mistake or intentionally. He wants his supporters to focus on something else so he cooks up some more rumours and false claims of corruption against the March 14 block. Meanwhile corruption continues to fester in all parts of the Lebanese state and Hezbollah continues to play army in any part of Lebanon it wants to and continues to be the last word on whether we are at war or not.

Targeting the Lebanese Force's recent campaign in the opening of his latest post, Bech writes about the Maronitism and what he perceive as a sign of the downfall of its a political agenda:

Now here comes the interesting part, early in the war, the Lebanese Forces, then a rising organization under Bashir Gemayel, proceeded into killing most of ‘the Tigers’, in effect removing potential rivals on the “Christian arena”. Dany Chamoun was spared till much later, assassinated along with his two little sons, wife, and dog, though maid and daughter could hide in closet. His daughter Tamara vehemently accuses Samir Geagea then and now leader of the LF of having perpetrated the act.

Hanibaal's frustration found its target in the newly elected Lebanese President, Michael Suleiman. Hanibaal posts this news article calling the new president a traitor and a pro-Syrian:

“Slime” was appointed by the Syrian occupation as chief of staff of the army, and when the Syrian army was being evicted out of Lebanon in 2005 by the Lebanese people, this [President] followed his Syrian masters to Anjar to bid them farewell and tell them how sorry he was that they were leaving…How can he be anything but a traitor?
There are no men left in Lebanon - only traitors and more traitors.

The Owuet Front’s blogger N10452 defended the Lebanese Forces against recent claims accusing them in the past to fight against the Lebanese army:

It has come to my attention many people still think that the LF were fighting the Lebanese army back when Aoun was in command. This major misconception is very much exploited by Aounists and lately by Hezbollah who was trying to innocent himself from the murder of Army pilot Samer Hanna by showing the ‘atrocities’ the LF did to the army almost 20 years ago.

Bart Peeters at In the Middle of the East commented on two recent published reports about the political and military situation in the south of the country and draws back the attention to the helicopter incident:

In Lebanon itself, meanwhile, a Hizbullah fighter last week mistakenly downed a helicopter of the Lebanese army, mistaking it for an Israeli one, thereby killing an officer and wounding two soldiers. Considering the Lebanese army owns a whopping total of 3 (three) helicopters, and Israeli aircraft are violating Lebanese airspace on a daily basis, this is not as far-fetched an explanation as it might sound… In any case, Hizbullah has owned up to its mistake and voluntarily handed over the 20-year old fighter to military police. Nevertheless, various parties in the country predictably continue to try and spin a lot out of the incident.

Moussa Bachir uses his blog’s space this week to promote what Human Rights Watch has to say about the maids’ situation in Lebanon, which includes:

“Domestic workers are dying in Lebanon at a rate of more than one per week,” said Nadim Houry, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. “All those involved – from the Lebanese authorities, to the workers’ embassies, to the employment agencies, to the employers – need to ask themselves what is driving these women to kill themselves or risk their lives trying to escape from high buildings.”

Lebanese Socialist also sheds light on the same report by Human Rights Watch:

HRW said that at least 24 housemaids have died since January 2007 after falling from multi-storey buildings. “Many domestic workers are literally being driven to jump from balconies to escape their forced confinement,” Houry said.

Christa Hillstrom, who dedicates her blog to the danger and the truth of the modern global slave trade, says:

Although the women often come through legal agencies and are somewhat trained for the domestic work, they frequently have their passports confiscated when they arrive and suffer physical and sexual abuse.

The disturbing news continues when Hillstorm quotes Elise Barthet’s report on the situation :

Beirut employment agencies promote them as merchandise or, in extreme case, as pets. They offer advice about which nationalities are supposedly docile, easy to maintain or “harder to break.”

Digging back in time, we can find many bloggers as Moustafa who previously posted his concerns over this growing phenomenon:

Sure they’re starving and living in miserable conditions, but that doesn’t mean that they have to put up with the ultimate abusive environment: The Lebanese household.

Professor Asad Abu Khalil at the Angry Arab News Service finds it a relief that the situation is getting international attention from HRW:

Finally. Human Rights Watch has noticed.

A few months ago Prof Abu Khalil published an article that tackles the maids’ situation in Lebanon, which was later posted at Daily Online Alcohona:

I will never forget Sushar Roxi. Do you remember her? That poor Sri Lankan maid who died by hanging in front of spectators and cameras. Do you remember when the city of Sidon's people woke up to find her dangling from the balcony, after she'd hanged herself with linens? Do you wonder why she hanged herself? Do you wish you could ask her? She dangled from the balcony for hours and nobody noticed or cared. Why did Sushar hang from the balcony and why do we never hear of investigations?

An earlier post by Abullor promotes a documentary (Maid in Lebanon II) that debates workers’ rights, employment, contracts and everyday terms and conditions of work.

Another alarming sign that went largely unnoticed was mentioned by Hanibaal a few months ago. His post focuses on a bill passed by the Ethiopian government that bans works from traveling to Beirut:

…Ethiopia passed the bill after it conducted a thorough analysis into the human right violations and domestic violence Ethiopian migrants face behind closed doors in Lebanon while in duty as maids.
…Past human right records show that 67 Ethiopian women died between 1997 and 1999 alone in Beirut while working. Many were never heard from again and many others remain very difficult to trace because their employers change their Christian name to let them in to the country as Muslims.

Tony Bey at Across the Bay gives a brief flashback on an earlier attempt by Moscow to sell a certain kind of missiles to Syria back in 2005:

The Israelis interfered with Putin in 2005 to stop the sale of these systems in particular. While Russia did indeed refrain from selling the S-300 and the Iskander, they ended up selling the Syrians the Strelets missile system, which consisted of vehicle-mounted Iglas, but did not include the man-portable platform, over the protests of the US and Israel.

Bey continues by linking the arm deal to Hizbullah:

As such, the concerns that the Syrians would pass man-portable (or even vehicle-mounted) anti-aircraft systems, such as the shoulder-fired Igla, remain valid. That Syria is still seeking these systems only highlights the likely intent to pass them along to Hezbollah.

Antoun Issa’s analyses the Russian-Syrian arm deal focus on the current situations of both countries; the re-emerging Russian power and the Syrian speculation of an upcoming war in the region:

The Russians have long been hostile to US plans for missile bases in former Soviet satellite idle and permit itself to be encircled.
At a time when tensions between Russia and the US are at their highest level since the Cold War, Assad is hoping Moscow will tighten its alliance with Syria by rewarding Damascus with missile bases akin to the US' planned bases in Poland.
Assad's keenness to expand his country's military involvement with Russia highlights the deep insecurity felt in Damascus in the event of a possible war with Israel, or between Israel and Iran.

Mustapha at Beirut Spring questions the arms deal's motive by presenting two questions that he finds linkable:

Question #1: If you were the Russian president and you want to find a way for punishing the US and Israel for training the Georgian army without stepping too much on Washington’s toes, what would you do?
Question #2: If you were the Syrian President negotiating with Israel from a position of weakness, what can you do to gain leverage?
If you find that two questions above point logically to each other, you’d understand why Israel and the US are nervous about a renewed proxy cold war in the Middle East…

Firas Maksad reacts to the Israeli statement that includes all Lebanese citizens are now targets of war by arguing that not all Lebanese are pro-Hizbullah nor its policies. He predicts that such actions by Israel can only leave this segment of Lebanese with no other choice by to back up Hizbullah if such threat are to be implied:

These are the more than 1 million Lebanese who in the 2005 Cedar Revolution peacefully took to the streets to directly challenge Hezbollah, Syria and Iran. They are the same people who supported the government earlier this year when it confronted Hezbollah by deciding to dismantle the organization’s countrywide communications infrastructure and remove the pro-Hezbollah security chief of Beirut’s airport…

…Israel will not defeat Hezbollah by adopting failed strategies that force Lebanese society into embracing the militant group as its only viable means of defense. By lumping all of Lebanese society into the same category with Hezbollah and threatening collective punishment, this is exactly what Israel’s latest Cabinet decision will do. It will leave the Lebanese with no choice but to grudgingly stand behind Hezbollah, just as they were forced to do last month when Israel repatriated Samir Kuntar and other Lebanese prisoners to the militant group instead of to the Lebanese state.

Now Lebanon quotes Ali Hassan Khalil's reaction to the news of the Israeli threat:

MP of the Development and Liberation bloc Ali Hassan Khalil said on Saturday that Lebanon has a “strong national unity cabinet facing a politically and militarily frustrated Israel.”
In a ceremony at Odeisseh Southern village, Khalil added, “Now that Lebanon has become strong in its resistance and victories it cannot be afraid of Israel.”

Hanin Ghaddar at Now Lebanon analyses this step by Hezbullah as a sign of the party’s agenda to weaken the Future Movement's popularity as the representative of the Sunni Muslims majority and as a clear sign of Hezbullah's disregard to the state’s authority:

The agreement is also an attempt to contain any Shia-Sunni strife, resulting from the Tripoli clashes, and convince the Lebanese that Hezbollah wants to restore security in Tripoli, and other parts of Lebanon. In this way it also undermines the state, which has been unable to make any real headway in curbing violence and maintaining security. However, Hezbollah seems to have forgotten that these Salafists groups were empowered after Hezbollah’s assault on Beirut and the Sunni street in May, because they were able to present themselves as a more aggressive alternative to the Future Movement. And yet only three months later, Hezbollah wants to convince us that they are concerned about security.

Joseph El-Khoury express his uncertainty over this memorandum specially after the announcement that the agreements is being put on hold for the time being:

But even if it did work, I will still be far from happy. It is hard to feel part of such a historic moment where One Muslim decides not to spill the blood of another Muslim…when one is not a Muslim. In fact I should probably be more concerned. For when spilling someone’s blood seems to be the only way forward in the struggle against Zionism and Imperialism a simple statistical calculation will make it obvious that this blood is more likely to be mine now than it was last week.

Zentor, a Belgian researcher and journalist based in Beirut, reports on how the Salafists themselves seem to be divided and reportedly funded by different countries:

…Good news, you would think, at a time when sunnis and (alawi) shias are battling it out full-scale in Tripoli. Not so according to Hariri and the founder of salafism in Lebanon, sheikh Dai al-Islam al-Shahhal (who happens to be a cousin of the other sheikh). They mumble something about bilateral agreements getting in the way of national reconciliation, but the real reason is spelt out today by Fida al-Itani in al-Akhbar: the MOU is signed by small group which is funded by Kuwait, while the opponents of the MOU are funded by Saudi-Arabia (through Hariri of course). At least, as Angry Arab points out, it is now clear that Hariri is the greatest sponsor of the salafi groups in Lebanon…

The Ouwet Front criticized the MoU by calling it a trap set by Hezbullah and compares it to Michel Aoun MoU’s:

It looks like Salafists refused to fall for Hezbollah’s trap .. If only Aoun realized that before signing his shameful MOu ..
I am not sure what made them change their minds, i have a feeling they are gonna fall for that same trap again…

Mustapha at Beirut Spring posted an earlier article that reflects his opinion towards the benefits of this MoU:

One can argue that Hezbollah’s Salafist partners are marginal, but one can’t deny that the M.O.U has achieved many objectives for them:
It has calmed the nerves of Hezbollah Shiite supporters who were concerned about Iraqi-style terrorist attacks on their mosques and markets
It has received wide acclaim in Lebanon and among Arabs for seeking to prevent intra-Islamic bloodletting
It has added a dent to Hezbollah’s reputation (some would say manufactured) as a sectarian Shiite Movement
It undermines the rationale of many pro-March 14 Sunni extremists who support the Future Movement because they believed Hezbollah’s project is an existential threat to Sunnis in Lebanon

Manuela who is keeping tabs on this new political situation wondered in an earlier post whether this MoU would work and if it will last at all. Her latest post reads:

The Salafi freezed the agreement with Hizballah…
…This must be the shortest ever PR stunt of Hizballah. Maybe tomorrow they will sign another agreement with the Salafi or with others. In Lebanon not everything is logic, although everything has some sort of justification.

R.I.P Lebanon's blogger Marillionlb wonders about the consequences of this MoU and posts some pictures that support this curiosity.

Tony at Across the Bay argues that this incident is a continuation of a Syrian plot alongside its followers and allies in Lebanon to disrupt the country’s independence and links it to the earlier events and conflicts in Tripoli:

The Syrians and Hezbollah made sure to first undercut local confidence in the Army in the Sunni community (which is something they didn't foresee when they tried Nahr al-Bared and Fateh Islam, but they've since adjusted), before turning it up in Tripoli once again.

Tony adds:

This is a continuation of the Assad regime's open war on Lebanon's Sunnis, and through them, on Lebanon's fragile independence for which they are a central pillar. That was the point of Rafik Hariri's assassination in 2005, it remains so today.

A Diamond’s Eye View of the World’s blogger woke up to find news of the explosion welcoming her as soon as her internet browser launched. She reminds herself how no news about Lebanon on the front page is good news:

When I get up in the mornings, the first site I see when I open my browser is the BBC’s news site: news.bbc.co.uk. And when I was in Beirut, I knew that it would be a good morning when Lebanon was not one of the news items bulleted at the top of the page - or, worse, the lead item.
This morning, of course, Lebanon was much in the news, thanks to the bus bombing in Tripoli and President Sleiman’s scheduled state visit to Syria…
…I’m watching Tripoli today and wondering, as I have frequently over the past two months, about what exactly is going on up there - and what it might portend for the rest of the country.