The military confrontations between the different factions in Lebanon have subsided a bit. The Lebanese Army has declared that it will interfere forcefully to restore order. It also seems that there is some sort of undeclared agreement between different sides to avoid escalation. There is a real fear that the conflict will slip into a full fledged civil war. The past five days were marred with killings, atrocities, destruction and violence. Here are some bloggers’ reactions on the crisis: The forceful closure of Future TV and other Future-owned media raised much criticism and indignation from most bloggers, even from those who are opposed to the politics of the Future Movement. Prof Abu Khalil mentions this shut down and denounces it as a replication of the one sided polemic exist in other countries in the area: I was also displeased with the closure of Hariri media, as much as I detest them and as much as I believe that they have been engaged in acute sectarian mobilization that is exactly the same as of the propaganda of Al-Qa`idah. I will not enjoy writing in Al-Akhbar and attacking my opponents if they are not on an equal footing: especially if their media are closed. One sided polemics are the stuff of which the Saudi and Syrian media are made, and we can't replicate that in Lebanon. Having said that: i still blame the Hariri Inc for the crisis, and their external backers: the agenda of the external backers pose the biggest threat to Lebanon and Palestine, but that does not mean that the left should be a mere cheerleader of organizations that are not leftist. Charles Malik reports on the re–launching of Future TV: Future TV is back on air. Future CEO Nadim al Munla is on, and Minister of Information Ghazi Aridi is calling in, at the moment. A technician is showing the torn and cut Future TV cables and where equipment was broken and stolen. Other bloggers are criticizing the media for taking sides and propagating biased and untrue information. Antoun has the following: F*** all the hoopla about the Lebanese media being free and liberal. What we need in this conflict is fewer أطرفة , fewer partisan sides, and more unfiltered, honest information. The Lebanese deserve better. Don't they realize that they are being tricked, maligned, lied to by the media every day?! What we have instead is far too much biased analysis and far too little information, and I unfortunately don't see this being resolved any time soon. Similar protests against some media’s portrayal of the conflict as a sectarian strife was raised by In the Middle of the East: Media that are allied with the government in Lebanon aims to present the current situation simply as sectarian strife. … First it’s important to highlight that Beirut was never strictly Sunni, while the people who are now fighting for the opposition, many belong to Beirut, live in Beirut, a city that has never been just Sunni but a mixture of all religious sects in Lebanon. This is one critical point. Clearly there is a strategy from the government and pro-government forces to portray Hizballah as the outsiders, to try to portray Hizballah as a force coming to change the nature of Beirut by bringing in Shi’ite elements, Iranian elements, Persian elements, barbarian elements, etc. All oriental stereotypes that mainstream western media and some mainstream Arab media will quickly adopt. Sursock is posting his observations on the events as they happen. Here is a sample: The army's French made armor was on display in the downtown area. Little did the US and France know that all the weapons sent to upgrade the army for a showdown with the resistance are instead taking aim at the western backed government. The majority Shia Muslim and Christian areas are peaceful; the battles are mainly taking place in the mixed areas, with the resistance and its allies in the opposition driving out pro government forces very quickly indeed. It is without a doubt that the army is backing the opposition. It is stepping into to battles to disarm pro government forces, taking over captured positions and seizing any arms. The thinking is that the head of the army and possible president, Michel Suleiman, is clearing any opposition to his appointment from the ruling coalition. In addition to the updates on his blog, MFL worries that the conflict will drag on like the 1975 to 1990 civil war in this post: What worries me most is that tomorrow we wake up and pray: “it is over”, but it doesn't. I know it won't be 17 years of war, but my parents for everyday then lived the horrors, and every day they woke up praying that it will be over. Bloggers are also reporting about atrocities committed on all sides. Blacksmith of Lebanon lists what he sees as six atrocities committed in just five days of the conflict.