What boat?

This morning, the US Embassy emailed us to let us know they were working on an evacuation plan.

Walking down the street in Beirut is like picking your way through a salad bar of attitude. The soldiers in the square are hot and bored, the Americans are all but freaking out, the locals are equal parts excited to crush Israel (it's an odd sort of fake enthusiasm though, like a hold over from the world cup mentality) and scared for their lives/belongings. This is what happens when fear of the unknown begins to grip a town I figure.

For my own part, I've remained relatively calm if not frustrated; however, this morning was the first time I began making calls and writing emails to get a serious and dependable back up plan in place. Last night, "all out war" was declared between Hezbollah/Hizbullah and Israel (by Hizbullah) (although, has this not been all out war for three days? What about the shockwaves rattling the city? The warships? Was this just pageantry?), meaning that permission has been given to all to act on emotion and instinct, to forget for however long their role as 'the civilized'. Today, Hezbollah flags flew from cars passing by in the city - I spent the majority of the day inside.

And where is our government through all of this? Here they are:

EMAIL TO AMERICANS IN LEBANON FROM STATE DEPARTMENT, SENT TODAY:

Message to Americans in Lebanon

The Department of State continues to work with the Department of Defense on a plan to help American citizens depart Lebanon. As of the morning of July 15, we are looking at how we might transport Americans to Cyprus. Once in Cyprus, Americans can then board commercial aircraft for onward travel. Commercial airlines provide the safest and most efficient repatriation options to final destinations.

The Department of State reminds American citizens that the U.S. government does not provide no-cost transportation but does have the authority to provide repatriation loans to those in financial need. For the portion of your trip directly handled by the U.S. Government we will ask you to sign a promissory note and we will bill you at a later date. In a subsequent message, when we have specific details about the transportation arrangements, we will inform you about the costs you will incur. We will also work with commercial aircraft to ensure that they have adequate flights to help you depart Cyprus and connect to your final destination.

The Department of State continues to work around the clock and will continue to send updates to you as appropriate.

...God, if this doesn't just crush a man's soul. We need better management in our government; not only has it taken them days to put together a plan (not even done? "Round the clock?" You're working around the clock and you have nothing in place after days? What's going on, exactly?), but - oh God it burns - they're actually making us pay for our own evacuation from a war zone. Deep, deep sigh. What about the people trapped in the south? They haven't paid enough?

In other, better news:

This morning, I called Fox News. Thankfully, they didn't pick up. However, I was prepared to tell them that, no, I wouldn't be working with them today. Or ever (if they pushed me). I admit, I've been anxious to get my hands on a camera and record a lot of this; still, a) it's Fox - I just don't agree with Fox - our philosophies don't line up - that'd be selling my soul; and b) from everything I've seen on television (from Fox, CNN, BBC, A.J., etc.) the news has done nothing but to sensationalize this conflict (yes, it's a very real conflict, dangerous things are happening in the south and on the border) but they're blowing everything out of proportion and, frankly, lying. Particularly in their portrayal of Beirut. Honestly, they western reporters either cannot gain access to the south or are too afraid, and so, it seems, they're bringing the danger to them. That's not something I want to be apart of and the argument to "change the system from the inside" has never made as much sense to me as the argument for simple non-participation.

Yesterday, we saw a report on the BBC wherein a British reporter voiced "We woke this morning to the sound of explosions" - funny, I was at the BBC the day before they bombed the Airport roads - was there quite a long time - and frankly, I just don't recall seeing one Brit. And why does he include himself in the opening line of a news report about the situation? Why say "we"? Where's the news?