Beni Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 President Macron is visiting Beirut today, good to see he's prioritising it, hopefully there's a concerted international effort to get supplies to where they're needed. From some of the reports I've seen the Lebanese government is another incompetent kleptocracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlandjambo3 Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 5 hours ago, highlandjambo3 said: Well I was when in the army.......been out a good few years now but when I left I handed back my ID card and uniform.....I didn’t hand back my 25years experience........ Some stuff stays with you. p.s.........I cant buy a box of fireworks in Tesco now without ID 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo-Jimbo Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 1 hour ago, fancy a brew said: President Macron is visiting Beirut today, good to see he's prioritising it, hopefully there's a concerted international effort to get supplies to where they're needed. From some of the reports I've seen the Lebanese government is another incompetent kleptocracy. Of the highest order it would seem, even Macron said that he'd make sure that French aid went to the right people and several activists are pleading with people not to donate to the Lebanese Government as they'll just keep it, but to donate directly to NGO's, charities or to the people themselves. This will probably bring down the Lebanese Government. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cade Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 Lebanon never really sorted the divisions that led to the civil war and occupation by Syria and Israel. Just kind of muddled through and it's never really been stable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kila Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 1 hour ago, highlandjambo3 said: p.s.........I cant buy a box of fireworks in Tesco now without ID 😂 Is that because after you retired from the army you still wanted to blow shit up and got banned from Tesco? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlandjambo3 Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 19 minutes ago, kila said: Is that because after you retired from the army you still wanted to blow shit up and got banned from Tesco? Dam....sussed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 Poor firefighters who were first on the scene stood no chance and they probably knew it. Similar to 9/11... devastating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXX Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 I believe this was an accident in the way that Chernobyl was an accident - it’s not that there are one or two people who are responsible, but a whole system of corruption and negligence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjack Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 Someone shared this video with me just now. Not sure how authentic it is though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 2 hours ago, Cade said: Lebanon never really sorted the divisions that led to the civil war and occupation by Syria and Israel. Just kind of muddled through and it's never really been stable. Some would say the opposite. There is a long standing arrangement in Lebanon that the various senior political roles have to be from different factions, eg the president is always a Christian. Unfortunately on occasion it leads to a struggle to find the right people in a group. There is also a bigger Imbalance in the population as after 1948 huge amounts of Palestinians came to the county and now the diaspora from Syria. Then add onto this lots of Christians leaving in the last few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trotter Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 35 minutes ago, superjack said: Someone shared this video with me just now. Not sure how authentic it is though. Two things immediately stand out as suspicious to me. 1) There is no exhaust trail from the missile - even if it was gliding rather than powered it would have some interaction with the smoke in the air on the way down 2) Using the same scale as the presumed target, that missile is as long as the building it hits is tall. It was what, two or three stories? I don't think there is a missile (other than ballistic) that is that big I'm calling shite on this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cade Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 That video is the most amateurish thing I've ever seen. I've seen all the original footage of those clips and all they've done is change the colour to hide their badly superimposed "missiles" Total cringe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo-Jimbo Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 (edited) Kicking off big time in Beirut, over 100 injured by the police. https://news.sky.com/story/beirut-riot-police-fire-tear-gas-at-protesters-as-anger-grows-over-port-explosion-12045227 Edited August 8, 2020 by Jambo-Jimbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cade Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 There was major political unrest before the explosion, it's been on the boil for ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ri Alban Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 The fecking CIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seymour M Hersh Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 On 05/08/2020 at 18:01, highlandjambo3 said: Just thought I’d chuck in my tuppence worth just for your information. I spent a lot of time in the Army blowing stuff up (demolition safety officer or explosives engineer for want of a better word). Its been reported that this explosion was ammonium nitrate based, which is commonly used in fertiliser at industrial level in the agricultural world. The IRA used to make bombs from this stuff called ANFO (ammonium nitrate mixed with fuel & oil) that’s what killed Mountbatten. So, in Northern Ireland it was illegal for farmers to purchase this product if it’s strength was more than 30%. This Ammonium nitrate also requires a very small amount of commercial explosive to ignite it/to make it go bang (did you recognise the cluster of flashes or smaller explosions before the main explosion), liken it to a bucket of petrol which in itself is not dangerous but, chucking in a lit match changes this perception. Anyway, to the uneducated/untrained, it may not be common knowledge that this stuff could be dangerous, it looks like a grow bag from B & Q. Thats all On top of this as a comparison there was around 2,700 tons stored in the warehouse in Beirut. The Oklahoma bomber used only 3.5 tons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlandjambo3 Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 11 hours ago, Seymour M Hersh said: On top of this as a comparison there was around 2,700 tons stored in the warehouse in Beirut. The Oklahoma bomber used only 3.5 tons. Ok, That 3.5 tons could have been very high strength ammonium nitrate (I don’t know). As my post stated below, ammonium nitrate is used as (PART) of fertiliser in agriculture on an industrial level so, let’s say (we won’t really find out with any certainty), it has been suggested In Beirut that the explosive content mass was 2,700 tons but, I’d say that the total fertiliser weight content was 2,700 tons with the ammonium nitrate being 30 (odd) percent of that, so much less than the 2,700 tons mentioned is (but still a frigging lot). I also did mention that the seriousness of how dangerous this stuff (*could be) can be disguised, with smoke and mirrors, as something else....let’s tell everyone it will be great for out farmers growing crops...our economy, feed the world etc...etc... I would suggest (my optioned course) the agreed storage of this Chemical was based on its use as an agriculture produce......why would any government official agree to store that type of hazard in a city if they knew it’s potential. Anyway.... not massively ITK about Beirut but, I did like playing with stuff that goes bang and consider myself quite knowledgeable in these matters..........don’t steal the milk from my front door.....I’ll hunt you down ant you won’t want that 😉 * our farmers still use this fertiliser.......it is actually safe. On 05/08/2020 at 18:01, highlandjambo3 said: Just thought I’d chuck in my tuppence worth just for your information. I spent a lot of time in the Army blowing stuff up (demolition safety officer or explosives engineer for want of a better word). Its been reported that this explosion was ammonium nitrate based, which is commonly used in fertiliser at industrial level in the agricultural world. The IRA used to make bombs from this stuff called ANFO (ammonium nitrate mixed with fuel & oil) that’s what killed Mountbatten. So, in Northern Ireland it was illegal for farmers to purchase this product if it’s strength was more than 30%. This Ammonium nitrate also requires a very small amount of commercial explosive to ignite it/to make it go bang (did you recognise the cluster of flashes or smaller explosions before the main explosion), liken it to a bucket of petrol which in itself is not dangerous but, chucking in a lit match changes this perception. Anyway, to the uneducated/untrained, it may not be common knowledge that this stuff could be dangerous, it looks like a grow bag from B & Q. Thats all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo-Jimbo Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 (edited) Said the other day it would bring down the Government. Entire Lebanese Government have resigned. https://news.sky.com/story/beirut-explosion-lebanon-pm-to-resign-within-hours-as-entire-government-steps-down-12046586 Edited August 10, 2020 by Jambo-Jimbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cade Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 The Cabinet and PM may have resigned now, but they'll all just get shuffled around and stay on as MPs. Some of them will even end up back in the Cabinet. The public are calling for all opposition MPs to stand down, and if 1/3 of MPs quit then that triggers a general election. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masonic Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 On 04/08/2020 at 22:17, Barack said: It's a staggering amount just sitting there in that proximity. For reference and scale; Timothy McVeigh the Oklahoma bomber, used 2 tons of ammonium nitrate. thats mental didnt know thats what was used on oklahoma terrible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cade Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 Port's on fire again. Diesel fuel dump and tyres this time, apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Potter Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 12 minutes ago, Cade said: Port's on fire again. Diesel fuel dump and tyres this time, apparently. thats terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cade Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Lebanon's two main power plants have run out of fuel and shut down. Some local generators in some neighbourhoods are still going but they'll run out soon too. Almost the whole nation now has no electricity. Since the currency was unpegged from the US Dollar, it's plummeted and lost it's value 15-fold. Fuel suppliers are demanding to be paid in dollars. Hence no fuel. The entire nation is fecked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo-Jimbo Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 Was hearing on the news that people can't even afford to buy paracetamol as it's so expensive now, mind there isn't any to buy in the first place but if there was the people couldn't afford it. Unless the Lebanese government do something PDQ law and order is going to completely break down and there is a real fear that the country could lurch into civil war again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 2 minutes ago, Jambo-Jimbo said: Was hearing on the news that people can't even afford to buy paracetamol as it's so expensive now, mind there isn't any to buy in the first place but if there was the people couldn't afford it. Unless the Lebanese government do something PDQ law and order is going to completely break down and there is a real fear that the country could lurch into civil war again. A civil war the same as the last one would be very unlikely. The balance of the religions in Lebanon has changed a lot since then with the Christian percentage well down from the 50+% it roughly used to be. This was eroded by initially the Palestinian refugee population (which most Lebanese blame for the civil war) and now with large numbers from Syria and elsewhere taking the figures even further away. Also a lot of Christian’s left during the civil war. There is however a fair bit of tension between the various Muslim sects around the country. And this could be a source of conflict in future as the Sunni population resent Iran’s influence in the country through Hezbollah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo-Jimbo Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 11 hours ago, Tazio said: A civil war the same as the last one would be very unlikely. The balance of the religions in Lebanon has changed a lot since then with the Christian percentage well down from the 50+% it roughly used to be. This was eroded by initially the Palestinian refugee population (which most Lebanese blame for the civil war) and now with large numbers from Syria and elsewhere taking the figures even further away. Also a lot of Christian’s left during the civil war. There is however a fair bit of tension between the various Muslim sects around the country. And this could be a source of conflict in future as the Sunni population resent Iran’s influence in the country through Hezbollah. Civil war was maybe a bit strong. Civil unrest though is very likely if the Lebanese government don't sort this out PDQ, as the public's patience is going to run out very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo-Jimbo Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 (edited) An alarming turn of events in Beirut, as clashes between Christian's & Shia's left at least 5 dead after a gun battle broke out during a protest about the judge leading the inquiry into the port explosion. https://news.sky.com/story/beirut-clashes-erupt-during-protest-over-explosion-inquiry-at-least-five-dead-in-lebanon-as-gunfire-breaks-out-12433547 Lebanon has enough problems to contend with, without an escalation of secterian violence breaking out. Edited October 14, 2021 by Jambo-Jimbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cade Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 That's the thing. After so many years of open corruption in the government and legislature, nobody trusts anybody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victorian Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 It's not looking like a Sunday picnic there eh? Very near to complete anarchy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cade Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 Christians happened to live close to the docks, so they were disproportionately affected by the explosion. Conspiracy theories are flying around that the whole thing was a Muslim plot against them (aye because blowing up half the city to target one neighbourhood makes total sense) All 6 deaths yesterday were Muslims, killed by Christian snipers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 1 minute ago, Cade said: Christians happened to live close to the docks, so they were disproportionately affected by the explosion. Conspiracy theories are flying around that the whole thing was a Muslim plot against them (aye because blowing up half the city to target one neighbourhood makes total sense) All 6 deaths yesterday were Muslims, killed by Christian snipers. There are some Christians in that part of the town but the main Christian population is in the east of the city, the west is mainly Sunni and the Shia population is traditionally more rural. Conspiracy theories are part of the Lebanese psyche and have been for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor FinnBarr Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 1 hour ago, Tazio said: There are some Christians in that part of the town but the main Christian population is in the east of the city, the west is mainly Sunni and the Shia population is traditionally more rural. Conspiracy theories are part of the Lebanese psyche and have been for years. Hard to believe Beruit was the "playground" of the middle east in the 70s. Never been but no chance of ever going now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 8 minutes ago, FinnBarr Saunders said: Hard to believe Beruit was the "playground" of the middle east in the 70s. Never been but no chance of ever going now. It’s been largely rebuilt since the civil war and is still a popular destination. The tourist industry is very important to the city to this day, it’s a beautiful city as the architecture is very mixed due to the European influence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ked Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 3 hours ago, Cade said: Christians happened to live close to the docks, so they were disproportionately affected by the explosion. Conspiracy theories are flying around that the whole thing was a Muslim plot against them (aye because blowing up half the city to target one neighbourhood makes total sense) All 6 deaths yesterday were Muslims, killed by Christian snipers. Why do you never see that criminals come from all kinds and religious political sects. It's only ever one way with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cade Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 A huge chunk of the damaged grain silo had collapsed due to a fire that has been raging for weeks. Due to government incompetence/corruption, hardly any clean-up has happened since the explosion in 2020. There is still thousand of tons of grain on site. It started to ferment. Fermentation turns grain starch into glucose then glucose into alcohol. Alcohol is extremely flammable. It's a hot summer. The grain caught fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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