Back To The Future

The resurrection of one of March 14’s most noisy propaganda instruments: Future T.V


If you haven’t watched Future TV yesterday, you’re missing out. It seems like they had a plan all along: they stay quiet for a while, but they secretly prepare for this period.

As soon as the news came out about the arrest of the security chiefs, Future TV started an emotional and intensive campaign reminiscent of the one that took place in early March.
The campaign is designed to be a rallying cry for the Lebanese people in the apparent final chapter of their tragedy. It reminds them of how great martyr Hariri was by mentioning his different accomplishments in the form of short bios, it then reminds them of the cruelty of the security regime by listing their other victims and atrocities.

The most important part however is when it promises that all the suffering will soon end, “because the Lebanese people is united, and because you can’t kill Lebanon”.
Did you guess the slogan? “Only the truth can liberate us”

The future movement seems to believe that the final chapter is being drawn, so they’re preparing the populace for the final knock out. “Lebanon won’t be devastated but the perpetrators will be” Announced P.M. Sanioura yesterday.

I took the lead from the campaign and I’ve hanged my own little Hariri pin on my blog’s title. I too am waiting to see the new Lebanon emerge.

Empty Streets

Wake me up when September ends…

You could almost smell the tension in Lebanon. Everyone is afraid, afraid from the unknown, from the harm yet to be caused.

The swift campaign of arrests was designed to do as much as possible in very little time. The purpose is to take the perpetrators by surprise and prevent them from planning any other destabilizing catastrophe.

P.M. Seniora has just said that a lot would be uncovered today. Meanwhile, the average Beiruti, Traboulsi, Sidewi, kissrweni… are all anxious.

The political leaders have fled until further notice; international heavy-weights like Khafier Solana and Terje Roed Larsen have unexpectedly postponed their scheduled visits to Beirut.

My heart goes out to my family and fellow Lebanese in Lebanon: be strong, stay home.

Lebanon is in pain. Labor pain.
Let’s hope the baby doesn’t turn out to be a monster

Mabrook

Finally, Justice in Lebanon...


(please use the comments section to express how you feel about this)

Passing The Baton

Dear Jeffrey, please keep it quiet…for now.


Just in case you didn’t notice, the first day of August was different this year from August 1st of last year. Do you remember all the pomp and fanfare that surrounded “The Anniversary of the Lebanese and Syrian armies”? Or, as transliterated from Arabic: 3eid al jaishain al lubnani wal soury?
The humiliating and highly scrutinized Syrian withdrawal made it impossible for our “sisters” to lump their army’s anniversary onto ours this year. So we had a quiet anniversary, and our sovereign Army is finally left alone. Is it?

Yesterday, the American Ambassador, Mr. Jeffrey Feltman made a rare showing in a Lebanese Army event. Lebanese Army divers had completed the first phase of an American training on underwater ordnance removal and disposal. This is not the first time the Lebanese army does an American training, but what is different this time is that the American ambassador showed up, made a speech and cracked a few jokes.

On the face of it, this is perfectly normal. Any country that gives training to foreign troops will have representatives in their graduation. But, like we all know, these are no ordinary times in Lebanon. We have a serious war of ideas going on between two camps, and any contribution, no matter how little, to our opponents’ arguments is not in the best interest of our country.

One of the ideas being propagated is this: Lebanon has moved from Syrian dominance to American (and by extension, Israeli) dominance. The sight of Mr. Feltman surrounded by smiling Lebanese soldiers who are bonding with their American counterparts can only add to that perception. It will make the March 14 alliance’s efforts to capture the hearts and minds of the remaining die-hard anti-American Lebanese a bit harder.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the training event shouldn’t be acknowledged. The Lebanese army’s website did cover the event but it has very cleverly underplayed the Feltman dimension.

So Mr. Feltman, we love your jokes, but for now, please keep them for yourself.

update: I just read Assafir. It seems Walid Jumblat and Talal Salman are making the same point (albeit with a populist Arabist twist)

Walid Jumblat, Dictator

The art of getting on your nerves

MTV’s Identity Crisis

Will Murr TV have a bitter after-taste?


Rumors have it that the MTV will be up and running again this Sunday. This is major news: The days when the station was singled out and shut down by force because of its anti-Syrian coverage seem very far away.
But behind the fireworks and the flying Champaign corks, lie uncertain times for the born-again station.

Before it was shut down, the station’s most loyal base was that of the Christian nationalists: Aounists, LFers and other groups were turning away in droves from the more established LBC, which was starting to sound too pro-establishment for their ears. Even non-Christian anti-Syrians found in the young MTV a refreshing boldness and an exciting clarity, especially in when it comes to calling Syrian Spades Spades.

Today, the station is re-opening in a very different political landscape. It has to position itself cleverly if it is to succeed in a highly polarized environment.

Being anti-Syrian is hardly relevant today. All the other major stations can now call themselves anti Syrian (except for Hizballah’s Almanar and Amal’s NBN), so how can MTV distinguish itself from the other stations?

In deciding its editorial policy, MTV will have to make difficult choices.
Will it take the side of Michel Aoun, who has great popularity among its core Christian viewers? Or will it bank on its new iconic nature that symbolized March 14, and join Annahar and Future TV network as a part of the new parliamentary majority?
How “Christian” will the station be? Will it support Walid Jumblat or Emil Lahhoud?

It all depends on Gabriel el Murr, the owner of the station and a man famous for his bad political luck; but we don’t need to speculate too much, the station should be broadcasting again soon, and it won’t be long before we know which direction it’s taking.

My Spring

Just to tell you all that I got engaged yesterday to my beautiful D.
Wish you all happiness, and hopefully, by next year, there will be a Mrs. Beirut Spring.

I'll be back to regular posting hopefully next week.

A Strong State

Can we publicly admire the Israeli government’s actions?


The sight of thousands of Israeli soldiers storming the remaining die-hard settlers in Gaza and removing them by force from their last stands will definitely cause a lot of emotions in the Arab/Lebanese press and media. Pundits are already writing tributes to the heroism of the “epical” intifada. Yet the one emotion we’re not likely to see anytime soon is this: Admiration for the Israeli Government’s action.

Admiration and envy to be precise. In Lebanon, we invented the world wahra, (Strong and influential presence that commands respect), but in reality, the Lebanese government is not strong enough to take on a vocal minority. We keep asking ourselves: Can the Lebanese army enforce a decision that the government deems best for our long-term interest despite short-term unpopularity?

We have driven the international community nuts with our constant need to compromise, fudge, make deals and appease. Journalist-cum-lawmaker Gebran Tweni has joined the fray and is asking the Prime Minister to be more confrontational.

Apologists for non-confrontation argue that Lebanon cannot be ruled by the mentality of the victor and the vanquished. But the solution shouldn’t be more compromise and more fudging. It should be more consolidation of the institutions that enforce the law, to strengthen the wahra of the government.

When the southern states refused to abolish slavery, American President Abraham Lincoln assembled an army and marched down the south to impose the federal law and restore respect for the federal government.

Of the tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers used to evacuated Gaza, there’s probably hundreds who have families in the Gaza settlements. Yet they are obeying orders. The government chosen by the majority of the Israeli people decided that it is good for their national long term interest.

I wonder what it would sound like if I said: I wish Seniora were more like Sharon.

Merriam-Webster Vs. Ricky Martin

The microphone is mightier than the pen


La coppa del Amor

Witness two contradictory events that happened in the last few days:
1- The "reputable" Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Collegiate Thesaurus has enlisted in its 3rd Edition a new entry for the word Arab:

Entry Word: Arab
Function: noun
1
Synonyms VAGABOND, clochard, drifter, floater, hobo, roadster, street arab, tramp, vag, vagrant
2
Synonyms PEDDLER, duffer, hawker, higgler, huckster, monger, mongerer, outcrier, packman, vendor

2- Pop Star Ricky Martin, with song titles as lavish as "she bangs", traveled to Jordan to "change negative perceptions of Arab youth in the West" and declared:

"I promise I will become a spokesperson, if you allow me to. A spokesperson on your behalf. I will defend you and try to get rid of any stereotypes.
I have been a victim of stereotypes. I come from Latin America and to some countries, we are considered 'losers,' drug traffickers, and that is not fair because that is generalizing"

You don't encounter a lot of cases where pop culture is more responsible than Academia, but in this case it's just too flagrant. I don't know what Merriam-Webster was thinking but it's amazing how acceptable it's becoming to be derogatory of Arabs in the United States.

A lot of readers of this Blog don't think highly of "Arabs", but no matter what our point of view is, it is preposterous for us to accept that the word "Arab" be equated with "VAGABOND, clochard, drifter, floater, hobo, roadster.Etc"

The Beirut Spring sees itself Arab the same way the British see themselves European. Not for any cultural or historical nonsense, but for the siren call of the common market. The Egyptian market for example, with its millions of consumers who speak our language, is just too attractive for our Lebanese producers and professionals to ignore.

It is one thing to despise the ruling regimes of our neighbors, but another to subscribe to or ignore a racial propaganda that special interest groups are aggressively promoting in the United States.

To them I say: Today, we are all Arabs!

Who Owns March 14 ?

I couldn't help but post since Neyla Mouawad made this important speech from Ehden, North Lebanon, Where I'm currently spending some quality time.


Again, sorry for irregular posting.

Travel Warning

Hey everyone,

I'm travelling tonight. This is why for the next ten days, my postings will be less regular. Still, you are always welcome to pass by and check previous postings. A lot of posts that you might have missed generated some precious debate that is still very relevant. Make sure you check them out.

Thank you all for reading my blog and I'll be back in touch soon hopefully.

The Lebanese Vulnerable Sex

Did you know that Naharnet is looking for a FEMALE Graphic Designer?


Of course, the body of the Ad tries to be more politically correct: “Naharnet seeks an individual for the challenging position of Graphic Designer”, as opposed to "Naharnet seeks a decent looking woman for the challenging task of pleasing an insecure boss"

My less fortunate guy friends who graduated with me always complained that there’s a big preference for female graduates in the Lebanese workplace. Now I believe them.

Something should be done about this; this is scandalous gender discrimination. How about bombarding their listed email address with “shame on you” emails; that should teach them a lesson ;)

The Specter of a Moslem/Christian Rwanda

The mysterious death of John Guarang is unleashing an eerily familiar scenario, threatening to cut short yet another Islamo-Christian rapprochement.


A poor African country is bitterly divided into two warring parties. Fortunately, a historical peace treaty to bring the two together has been recently signed. Just a bit later, the leader of one of the groups and signatory of that treaty has died (killed?) in an air accident. Loud riots are beginning to be heard in the capital.

If the African country in question was Rwanda, then the rest of the story would be known: 500,000 men, women and children were cruelly massacred for their sheer ethnic affiliation.
But it’s not: The country in question is Sudan, where the leader of the (Christian/pagan) south, who was recently declared Vice-president of a united country after a long and bitter fight with the (Moslem) north ended, died in a helicopter crash. Violent riots are beginning to be heard in Khartoum.

The international community has to move fast to avoid another embarrassing repeat of Rwanda. What adds more to the urgency is the symbolic nature of the Sudan conflict: a fight between Moslems and Christians. This should end very quickly. God knows how little we need other Jihadists and Crusaders.

P.S: the movie Hotel Rwanda should be playing in Lebanon anytime soon. I strongly recommend it.