Frank Lamb
"As he watched the Iranian President blow kisses to cleaning workers at Beirut's airport during his departure for Iran early this morning, a Lebanese Christian historian commented "This Persian's glory at the moment is arguably greater than Caesar's following Rome's second conquest of Britain".
<span>"a Lebanese Christian historian commented "This Persian's glory at the moment is arguably greater than Caesar's following Rome's second conquest of Britain".</span>
ReplyDeleteThat's a peculiar historical reference. I mean it's pretty specific. If the historical analogy is correct, then the Ides of March won't be far off.
:-D Good one!
ReplyDeleteI recall the professor making disparaging comments about this writer's assessment of events in Lebanon. I don't know anything about the guy, but this article really seems a bit much. One of the overwrought descriptions:
ReplyDelete<span>At one stop near the blue line in South Lebanon he smiled broadly, winked to the media contingent and adoring villagers surrounding him and, gazing deep into occupied Palestine, as if posing for a Marlboro Country billboard advertisement, Iran’s charismatic President made many a heart flutter when he spoke softly, almost whispering to some villagers, and with a twinkle in his eye , as if someone were eavesdropping: “ Now isn’t this one fine view?”, as he discretely pointed. “I like it over there, don’t you?”</span>
Good grief.
I don't know if you meant this to be funny, but it is.
ReplyDeleteHe's an American that teaches at the American University in Beirut and is comfortable being around Hizbullah people but his life is dedicated mostly to the Palestinian cause. He wrote a couple of books about Israel's actions in Lebanon, one of which is a total inventory of every type of rifle, bullet, rocket, missile etc dumped on the Lebanese people that reads like a technical military catalogue (I got the book as a gift and it was all Greek to me) In the 80s he and his wife were heavily involved in helping the Palestinians in the camps and he writes about it on each anniversary of the 1982 Sabra-Shatilla massacre because he could describe what happened from inside the camp as both worked at the small hospital inside the camp. When the embassy was bombed in Beirut in 1983 and the building collapsed on the 63 people inside it, his pregnant wife was among the victims. She had been there to get something or other for the Palestinians. He travels around Beirut on a motorcycle and he is always writing about his stories about the Hizbullah mechanic that repairs his bike. He is a regular contributor at Counterpunch and my only problem with his writing is with the length of his articles that read more like a neverending diary but the guy is a great crusader for the Palestinian cause and you could tell by the small dig in his article about the oppresssive camp condition under which they are living, when he described the motorcade from the airport approaching the camps.
ReplyDeleteWas your professor from Lebanon?
In 2007, he wrote a nostalgic letter to Janet:
http://mycatbirdseat.com/2010/04/a-letter-to-janet-about-sabra-shatila/
The professor was the angryarab. I recall him writing something to the effect that Lamb was not a reliable source for what was going in Lebanon.
ReplyDeleteTerribly sad about his wife, poor man, but based on what you wrote, I can see he is not a reporter, but an activist. The cheerleading style of his piece makes more sense after learning that.
"...made many a heart flutter..." ?????
Thanks.
<span>The professor was the angryarab. I recall him writing something to the effect that Lamb was not a reliable source for what was going on in Lebanon.
ReplyDeleteTerribly sad about his wife, poor man, but based on what you wrote, I can see he is not a reporter, but an activist. The cheerleading style of his piece makes more sense after learning that.
"...made many a heart flutter..." ?????
Thanks.</span>
This is what I was referring to:
ReplyDeleteHizbullah media love Franklin Lamb. I don't know him and he may be a nice guy but he is clueless. Just because he is opposed to Israel and US war does not mean that he is reliable. And his conspiratorial scenarios never materialize.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/01/franklin-lamb.html
This is like when Al-Manar TV promotes the (baseless) conspiracy scenarios of Franklin Lamb as "American investigative journalist" or as "US specialist on the Middle East."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2008/06/this-is-hilarious.html
Hizbullah propaganda outlets are obsessed with "info" from Filka (Israeli website) and Franklin Lamb. Both are as reliable on Lebanon as is Robert Fisk Jumblat.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2008/05/hizbullah-propaganda-outlets-are.html
Now I know who the professor is. As you observed, Lamb is no journalist, he is a lawyer and he writes from the heart although he rambles on and on as if writing in his diary and from the heart is how his articles should be read. He is one of the good guys for the Palestiians and he has been fighting for them since 30 years or so. I spot an occasioanl blooper in his articles but overall, he is not far off the mark.
ReplyDeleteDid you mean he better watch out his back?
ReplyDeleteIt just struck me as an odd historic reference. Why that as oppossed to something more familiar? At first I thought the writer was being a show off, like Asa'ad says Lebanese chauvanists sometimes do. Then I thought maybe he was subtly suggesting there may be something rotten in the state of Iran.
ReplyDeleteJoe, I think he said it just as a hyperbole.
ReplyDelete...and in other news, Obama's latest speech was the greatest piece or political oratory since martin luther Ling addressed the Memphis Sanitation workers in April 1968....(That was his famous "I've been to the mountaintop" speech. He was killed the next day. I'm not saying Obama will be shot; I'm making a point about this writer's historical reference.)
ReplyDeleteGot your point..
ReplyDelete