Now that's democracy

Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons Responsible for Policies and Actions That Threaten Lebanon's Sovereignty and Democracy

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

In order to foster democratic institutions in Lebanon, to help the Lebanese people preserve their sovereignty and achieve their aspirations for democracy and regional stability, and to end the sponsorship of terrorism in Lebanon, it is in the interest of the United States to restrict the international travel, and to suspend the entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of aliens who deliberately undermine or harm Lebanon's sovereignty, its legitimate government, or its democratic institutions, contribute to the breakdown in the rule of law in Lebanon, or benefit from policies or actions that do so, including through the sponsorship of terrorism, politically motivated violence and intimidation, or the reassertion of Syrian control in Lebanon.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, hereby find that the unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of persons described in section 1 of this proclamation would, except as provided for in sections 2 and 3 of this proclamation, be detrimental to the interests of the United States.

I therefore hereby proclaim that:

Section 1. The entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of the following aliens is hereby suspended:

(a) Lebanese government officials, former Lebanese government officials, and private persons who deliberately undermine or harm Lebanon's sovereignty, its legitimate government, or its democratic institutions, or contribute to the breakdown in the rule of law in Lebanon, including through the sponsorship of terrorism, politically motivated violence or intimidation, or the reassertion of Syrian control in Lebanon ;

(b) Syrian government officials, former Syrian government officials, and persons who meet the criteria for designation under section 3(a)(i) or (ii) of Executive Order 13338 of May 11, 2004, who deliberately undermine or harm Lebanon's sovereignty, its legitimate government, or its democratic institutions, or contribute to the breakdown in the rule of law in Lebanon, including through the sponsorship of terrorism, politically motivated violence or intimidation, or the reassertion of Syrian control in Lebanon;

(c) Persons in Lebanon who act on behalf of, or actively promote the interests of, Syrian government officials by deliberately undermining or harming Lebanon's sovereignty, its legitimate government, or its democratic institutions, or contribute to the breakdown in the rule of law in Lebanon, including through the sponsorship of terrorism, politically motivated violence or intimidation, or the reassertion of Syrian control in Lebanon;

(d) Persons who, through their business dealings with any of the persons described in subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section, derive significant financial benefit from, or materially support, policies or actions that deliberately undermine or harm Lebanon's sovereignty, its legitimate government, or its democratic institutions, or contribute to the breakdown in the rule of law in Lebanon, including through the sponsorship of terrorism, politically motivated violence or intimidation, or the reassertion of Syrian control in Lebanon; and

(e) The spouses and dependent children of persons described in subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this section.

Sec. 2. Section 1 of this proclamation shall not apply with respect to any person otherwise covered by section 1 where entry of such person would not be contrary to the interests of the United States.

Sec. 3. Persons covered by section 1 or 2 of this proclamation shall be identified by the Secretary of State or the Secretary's designee, in his or her sole discretion, pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary may establish under section 5 of this proclamation.

Sec. 4. Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to derogate from U.S. Government obligations under applicable international agreements.

Sec. 5. The Secretary of State shall have responsibility for implementing this proclamation pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary, in the Secretary's sole discretion, may establish.

Sec. 6. This proclamation is effective immediately. It shall remain in effect until such time as the Secretary of State determines that it is no longer necessary and should be terminated, either in whole or in part. Any such determination by the Secretary of State shall be published in the Federal Register.

Sec. 7. This proclamation is not intended to, and does not, create any right, benefit, or privilege, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, its officers or employees, or any other person.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty eighth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.

GEORGE W. BUSH

i am

a loser.

a freak. just like this one. could you spot the freak?

pink gets me high as a kite

world refugee day

black magic woman

little miss sunshine

i cant really remember when it started but i cannot think of a time when it wasnt there.
whether its an innate or an acquired trait i dont know. all i know is that its there and its probably the only thing that i call home.
i live in a bubble. yup. there, i said it. all by myself. its a wonderful place. really. i made it myself i dont remember when and i dont know how. and i am definitely NOT the person who could create anything worth the space since it takes me all evening to put a kinder surprise together. they're so complicated!
i see the atrocities every single day. i read them and i hear them and i feel them. and every single time i stumble on new shapes and forms i manage to feel yet again, so much shock and disgust and fascination by the stupidity of the human race. i often gasp. my friend tells me how sweet and somehow endearing that is and i never fail to detect the sarcasm in there and i take it well most of the time. so then i curse a bit and i hate a bit more and while i'm on my way to realizing that its the end of the world i get distracted by something so unremarkable that i cant remember what it is right now. i just remembered Picasso's 'The Dance of Youth'. i bought the poster the other day because as soon as i looked at it it reminded me of those little things that distract me (the things that i cant remember now). the point is that those little unremarkable things are the most beautiful things in the world. and they're all over the place.
so now as im writing this i realize that what it could actually be is simply that i cannot remember what makes me sad and bitter and so i just move along as they do in the painting. i dont know.
but anyway. i forgot what i wanted to write about in the first place but i remember that it was something positive surrounded by all the negatives in the world. but they cant get to it because it's safe in a beautiful (and unbreakable, a very important point to add here) bubble. i mean so many things and so many people have tried hard to break it and it didnt work so this suggests that its probably unbreakable. no? who cares!! not me. do i look like someone who cares? which reminds me of celia cruz's 'yo vivire' which is one of the most beautiful things i've listened to today.
i dont know why im going on and on like this and i'm totally sober. so incoherent i absolutely love it!
and you know what the funny thing is? i keep forgetting to buy a bubble maker.
so the moral of the story is that there is no moral in the story. none whatsoever.

where would you like to be my love