As I said the other day, Nasrallah has become a rock star. Today’s Hezbollah Spectacle in Beirut brought out some more unlikely-looking supporters.
A quarter of the population joined the demonstration. Many, even those in Western dress, carried pictures of Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader (Nabil Mounzer/EPA)
Unfortunately, things have turned ugly. The latest reports say that “protesters” have got Siniora’s government surrounded, and have blocked off the roads.
A Lebanese pro-Syrian protester looks at soldiers as demonstrators encircle the government headquarters in Beirut December 1, 2006. Lebanon’s opposition plans to block off all roads leading to the government offices on Friday where Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and and most of his ministers are holed up, a senior opposition source said. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard (LEBANON)
Will this be the first of the three civil wars King Abdullah said were brewing in the Middle East?
There’s just so much competition.
Mr. Abbas gave his grim assessment about the state of talks between his Fatah faction and Hamas, the militant faction that controls the Palestinian government, after a one-hour meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Jericho, in the West Bank. And while this is the second time Mr. Abbas has declared the unity talks dead — he did so in October, and talks resumed this month — there was a sense of defeat at the press briefing, which Mr. Abbas conducted with Ms. Rice.
“We wanted a cabinet capable of easing the suffering of our people,” Mr. Abbas said. “This is very painful for us because we know how badly the people have been suffering over the last nine months.”
The blogging gods must not want me to post pictures of movie stars’ washboard abs. My Richard Gere post screwed up my theme, so I had to delete it. You’re not missing much.
Here’s a consolation prize:
There’s a candid interview with Mel Gibson in Entertainment Weekly, where he’s the cover-boy for his hideously violent new movie, Apocalypto (the trailer was quite enough for me, thank you).
How is your relationship with Hollywood these days? Do you feel you’ve done enough apologizing for your anti-Semitic remarks?
Those were the ravings of an inebriated, angry person. I don’t know. I think publicly I have done enough. The process continues. The people I know in this town come up to me and say, ”What the f— is wrong with you?” I go, ”Sorry.” They get it. It’s not a big thing. It’s like, ”Okay, so when are we going to work together again?” The people who don’t know me, if I’ve offended them, I’m sorry.
People won’t really refuse to work with you?
No, people aren’t like that. Those are just headlines: Mel Ostracized by Hollywood! Hollywood is what you make it. There is no great pooh-bah up there saying, ”Go! You are condemned!”
What about Disney? Was there any discussion of pushing back the release date of Apocalypto because of the scandal?
I don’t know. They didn’t tell me if they discussed it. I called [president of production] Oren Aviv and he was business as usual. But even he’s suffered a little. He’s been called a collaborator.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So you don’t believe you’re anti-Semitic?
MEL GIBSON: No, of course not. I never have been and never would be. But [the incident] hit this fear thing in me. My God, I made people afraid. It never dawned on me before; I thought, Who would be afraid of me? But all of a sudden I realized I could make people afraid. And it was a horrible feeling. That’s when I said, My God, I don’t want to be that monster. I don’t want to make anyone afraid. That’s what this film is about — using fear — and I was inadvertently doing that without realizing it.
I think that’s what fueled some criticism of The Passion — fear that people would use the movie against the Jews.
I didn’t even get that. I was like, ”What the f—?” I’m certainly glad there were no negative repercussions from that movie. I just never thought it would happen and I’m really glad it didn’t.
Does all this help explain where the hostility came from when you were arrested? You’ve said it was pent-up anger over criticism that The Passion was anti-Semitic? Did those charges sting?
I did have a chip on my shoulder about a lot of things that happened [with that movie] that I felt were unjust. I’m not waiting for an apology — that’s not going to happen — but stuff comes out in a distorted manner when you’re drunk. It was just stupid ravings, from pressure and tension. But it’s not like I went to Yankee Stadium and said [pretends to bang on a microphone], ”Excuse me…”
Or said them on stage at a comedy club?
I felt like sending Michael Richards a note. I feel really badly for the guy. He was obviously in a state of stress. You don’t need to be inebriated to be bent out of shape. My heart went out to the guy. Poor f—er, he’s getting it now. They’ll probably torture him for a while and then let him go. I like him.
It’s hard to tell if Gibson really got it. He still doesn’t seem to have put two and two together about what frightened many in Hollywood and in the media about The Passion of the Christ—the fact that Gibson’s father is a Holocaust denier.
That’s what frightened people about him and about his movie. And he’s still in denial about it.
I gotta give it to him, though: he sure gets the Trial by Media phenomenon.
