September 17, 2009
Bear With Me
I'm having a hard time concentrating and writing right now because I picked up a virus. It's not the dreaded H1N1, but it's enough to sap my productivity. If I had an office job, I would stay home. Sigh. It's mild enough, though, that I don't think I'll be out of sorts for very long.
Posted by Michael J. Totten at September 17, 2009 10:24 AMNo worries - Hope you get better soon!
Posted by: maryatexitzero
at September 17, 2009 3:17 PM
Hope you are recovering. I have a question and wonder if you might have some insight.
I have been thinking about the reaction lately of the Iranian people toward the regime there and wonder if there might be some ramifications for Hezbollah in Lebanon. If the Iranians see the regime as a corrupt dictatorship not acting in the best interests of the people, might the Lebanese begin to see things that way? And what might they think of Hezbollah's close alignment with the Iranian regime? Might continued strife in Iran cause Hezbollah to distance itself somewhat from the Iranian regime or if it doesn't might the people of Lebanon begin to distance themselves from Hezbollah?
Could the recent scandal surrounding Salah Ezzedine act as an additional wedge between the good folks of Lebanon and Hezbollah?
How much contact is there between the general populations of Iran and Lebanon?
Thanks for the great blog and I will be looking for your book when it becomes available.
Posted by: crosspatch at September 18, 2009 10:40 PM
And another question I had some time ago but forgot about ... might Hezbollah, if the Iranians were viewed as corrupt, align themselves more closely with the Shiite clerics in Najaf than those in Qom?
Posted by: crosspatch at September 18, 2009 10:43 PM
crosspatch,
This caught my attention today: "In protests around Tehran and other Iranian cities, demonstrators chanted "Not Gaza, not Lebanon -- our life is for Iran" in a challenge of the government's priority of supporting Palestinian militants in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas instead of focusing on problems at home."
Posted by: Paul S. at September 18, 2009 10:50 PM
And I noticed this video on YouTube that shows Iranians tearing down a Hezbollah poster:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzt4zOYatvY
Posted by: crosspatch at September 19, 2009 5:51 PM
Off Topic, but worth it to know what kind of asshats Obama picked for his advisors.
Obama Foreign Policy Adviser Brezinski Calls for Obama to Shoot Down Israeli Jets
Posted by: Papa Ray at September 19, 2009 8:16 PM
If you're lucky, it is H1N1. For most, it's actually quite mild, and catching it now should provide immunity. It does remain infectious for 8 days or so, apparently, so spread it around as much as possible.
Posted by: Brian H at September 20, 2009 11:32 AM
Michael,
Get well soon.
Posted by: leo at September 20, 2009 8:27 PM
