Saturday Update

Saturday has almost been a normal day.
Waking up to the sounds of birds instead of dumpsters and scooters
(not to mention gunfire) was truly a pleasure.

We have been out and about in the neighborhood, and seen some damage.
To be honest, however, after all that noise, I expected more, although I have not been to any of the hotspots.
The grocery stores are reasonably stocked, but they are about the only shops open.

Our bellweather dry cleaner is still closed.

One indicator of what neighborhood you are in has always been posters and flags.
All the pictures, posters and flags of Rafiq Hariri or his son Saad are gone or defaced.
There is a new flag in town.



The political events are a little difficult to decipher. This afternoon's speech
by Prime Minister Saniora was not exactly conciliatory. CNN can explain it for you better than I can.
He put Hizbollah's weapons in perspective when he asked where are the Israelis in the neighborhoods you attacked?
Hisbollah has always said that its weapons were for the defense of Lebanon from Israel.
People did believe that, but they don't any more.
I haven't seen any response to the speech yet.

Although Hamra, and most of Beirut, is quiet today, this is not over.
There is fighting near Tripoli up north, and there will certainly be other hotspots.
The airport is still closed and the Hizbollah tents are still choking downtown.
How these events shape the future of Lebanon remains to be seen.

How these events shape our future also remains to be seen.

Stay tuned.