Lebanon I

So, I had spent the first twelve or so hours that I was in Beirut half-wondering if I was going to have to get out again. As the government had (again) delayed presidential elections, and there was relatively tight security around the country (ie. checkpoints, and TANKS! - which were cool, and soldiers), when the outgoing president decided at 9pm that there was going to be military martial law to keep order after he left office at midnight, until a president could be picked, the tension heightened just a wee bit. I suppose that would've been a bit exciting, being caught in the middle of martial law, but there was much negotiation in the ensuing three hours, and it was decided that the army would work with the current government to help decide on a president. I'm not entirely sure how having the army help you is such a great thing, but apparently it's better than pure martial law. Whatever; all's it is to say is that it's not as terribly exciting, politically speaking, as it could have been, and I certainly don't need the Canadian government to evacuate me out of Lebanon.
Certainly, one of the big confusing things that I suppose you just have to be Lebanese to start to grasp is the nature of the politics here. It is terribly jumbled, and sometimes just plain old doesn't make sense, however, there is one way I have been able to discern who is a supporter of Hezbollah: basically, any man who keeps talking, really loudly, and completely disregards anyone else's opinion, or even the newscaster trying to end the interview, is a supporter of Hezbollah. Apparently, this is perceived as a great virtue, this being incredibly rude, as for the Shiia, the one who has the loudest and strongest (NOT the wisest or the smartest) voice is clearly the victor. That is ridiculous, as I can think of many loud and strident voices (present company included) that are clearly not the wisest voices...
I notice I haven't had particularly a lot of funny stories as I usually do on this trip... I guess the Middle East isn't particularly funny...