Bush a Genius Says NY Times

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Nope C.I. I will freely admit there are jerks on A2K. But I won't call you a jerk even if you happen to be. That's the difference.

perserveration on expired talking points is detrimental to coherent dialogue

Definately not the same as the rest of us.

It's like us, but lacking logic or argumentative ability, CI. ...

Cycloptichorn

And I have never reported a member and it would have to be way more serious than personal insults on a message board to get me to do that.

Hariri sister calls for justice
Massive protest marks former PM's death
Monday, March 14, 2005 Posted: 12:04 PM EST (1704 GMT)

Protestors wave national flags and portraits of Hariri in Beirut Monday.

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Hundreds of thousands have been gathering in Beirut for what organizers called the largest opposition rally since the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri four weeks ago.

Flag-waving crowds from across Lebanon flooded into Martyrs' Square in central Beirut on Monday, just meters (yards) from Hariri's grave.

They are demanding an international inquiry into his February 14 killing, the resignation of Lebanese security chiefs and a total Syrian withdrawal.

Addressing the massive crowd, Hariri's sister vowed an endless fight to find out who was behind the bombing. "We will never stop searching for the truth," Bahia Hariri, an opposition member of parliament, said tearfully to resounding cheers.

"We will not allow the sacrifice of the Lebanese resistance that gave Lebanon back its dignity."

Hariri was the chief opposition figure in Lebanon who spearheaded the push for Syrian troops and intelligence officers to leave Lebanon. His death triggered huge daily protests by his supporters. The pro-Syrian Lebanese government resigned.

Last week, Syria began pulling its 14,000 troops to the Bekaa Valley near the border, and vowed to bring all the troops and intelligence officials across the border into Syria later on.

To counteract the opposition, Hezbollah -- an official party in Lebanon, considered a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel -- organized an enormous pro-Syria rally.

Monday's opposition rally in Beirut was designed to pull even greater numbers. It was not immediately clear which rally was larger. Wire services estimated Monday's turnout at about 800,000.

"The Lebanese people are sick and tired of the status quo and they want true independence," said one participant. "We want our country to be free, with no oppression," said another.

"This is a tremendously large crowd, the size of which is unprecedented in Lebanon's modern history," said CNN's Brent Sadler in Beirut. "It is truly massive and cannot be ignored."

Protesters waved banners demanding "Syria Out" and unfurled a 100-meter (yard) red-and-white Lebanese flag with the distinct green cedar tree in the middle.

Some sang the national anthem, while others chanted "Truth, Freedom, National Unity," or "We want only the Lebanese army in Lebanon," The Associated Press reported.

Crowds of men, women and children spilled into nearby streets, while more from across the country packed the roads into Beirut.

"We are coming to liberate our country. We are coming to demand the truth," Fatma Trad, a veiled Sunni Muslim woman who traveled from the remote region of Dinniyeh in northern Lebanon to take part, told AP.

"We are determined to liberate our country and we will not stop," Farid Samaha, a 32-year-old banker, said.

Many on Monday carried pictures of Hariri, and cars on street corners blared his speeches. "We miss you," read one large banner.

The crowd fell silent at 12:55 p.m. (1055 GMT), the exact time Hariri was killed four weeks ago. Church bells tolled in the silence.

'Historic' move
On Sunday, U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said Syria has given a timetable for the withdrawal of all its troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon.

After meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad, the envoy said he would brief U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan about the "historic" move.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she had not had a chance to talk to the diplomat but saw "positive elements" coming out of that meeting.

Syrian Cabinet minister Bouthaina Shaaban told CNN the first stage will see all troops withdrawn to the border by the end of March and they could "probably" be in Syria before Lebanese parliamentary elections in May.

Syrian officials say they are following U.N. Resolution 1559 as well as the Taif Accord, signed in 1989, which legitimized Syria's presence in Lebanon at the end of a bitter civil war there but called for a later withdrawal. But U.S. President George W. Bush and other world leaders have said Syria must immediately pull all its forces from Lebanon.

Resolution 1559 also calls for Lebanon to disband militia groups, including Hezbollah. The Taif Accord allowed Hezbollah to remain in place.

National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" Sunday that the United States believed "all elements in Lebanon have an opportunity through the elections to participate in the process that will result in a democratically elected government."

Hariri's assassination also led to Prime Minister Omar Karami's resignation. But he was renominated as prime minister following last week's massive pro-Syria demonstration organized by Hezbollah.

Many Arabs see Hezbollah as heroic for helping drive Israeli forces from Lebanon. Israel pulled its troops from southern Lebanon in 2000.

Hezbollah has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against civilians and is listed by the United States and Israel as a terrorist organization. It remains an official party in Lebanon.

U.S. officials have called on both Lebanon and Syria to halt support for Hezbollah.

CNN Beirut Bureau Chief Brent Sadler contributed to this report

Lebanese MP says Lebanon-Syria intelligence units hiding truth on Hariri

Published: 3/14/2005

BEIRUT - An opposition Lebanese MP charged Monday that Lebanese and Syrian intelligence services are hiding the truth behind the assassination last month of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

"You want the truth on the assassination?" asked Marwan Hamade, addressing a crowd of 800,000 people at a massive demonstration called by the anti-Syrian Lebanese opposition.

"It's lying in the dark chambers of the (Syrian-Lebanese) intelligence services that are ruling us and that you are in the process of sweeping out."

His comments came as British newspaper The Independent wrote that a United Nations investigation into Hariri's killing will report that Lebanese and Syrian authorities are behind a cover-up of evidence from the February 14 blast.

"The UN investigators have become convinced that there was a cover-up of evidence at the very highest levels of the Lebanese and Syrian intelligence authorities," the daily said.

Hamade was the official opening speaker at the rally, held in central Beirut near Hariri's grave.

The former prime minister's murder has been widely attributed to Syria, which has had a strong military and intelligence presence in Lebanon since 1976.

Syria has denied involvement in the killing and, in the face of mounting public fury, has begun withdrawing some of its estimated 14,000 troops in Lebanon.

On Monday, Syrian intelligence services evacuated three posts in northern Lebanon and were preparing to leave four others, a Lebanese security official said.

The evacuated positions were immediately taken over by the Lebanese army.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the weekend made a commitment to call home all his forces in accordance with a United Nations Security Council Resolution.

But his gesture has done little to calm the spirits of a Lebanese opposition that is pressing for a full withdrawal as well as for light to be shed on Hariri's assassination.

"They killed (Hariri) because he was thwarting their plan to make Lebanon submit. They killed him because they are the enemies of democracy and Arabism," said Hamade, who himself escaped assassination last year.

The opposition is seeking the removal of Lebanon's public prosecutor and the heads of the six Lebanese security services, which they see as perpetuating Syrian influence.

"The independence uprising will not stop until all our demands are met," Hamade said.

Many Arabs see Hezbollah as heroic for helping drive Israeli forces from Lebanon. Israel pulled its troops from southern Lebanon in 2000.

Sheesh FD, if I hit the report button every time somebody took an insulting shot at me, there wouldn't be anything left in some threads but my posts.