The big Joke

We just love to lose. The sad thing about that is we deny reality and claim to emerge victorious whatever the outcome. While the world sat and watched fellow Lebanese kill one another, the tragic events unfolding in Beirut reminded us of horrible scenes pulled from Lebanon's archives of war. While the rest of the Arab Gulf was enroute to achieving economic milestones, Beirut was drawn into chaos, on the verge of civil war, and soon ran out of tombstones to bury the dead.
Overnight, all changed.
Reconciliation took charge, with opposing sides agreeing on problematic issues, cordial smiles reigned over, and a sence of warmth filled the once-tense atmosphere. For we are all Lebanese, we need one another, we have nobody but each another. That is so true, once you realize everybody is in It for their own personal reasons. Israel and Syria, the United States and Iran were all working the bargaining tables behind the media flare up taking place in Beirut. We were the victims. Not Hizbullah, or the ruling Majority, but Lebanon and what it stood for. What an embarrasment...33 years after '75. Have we not learned a lesson yet?

Doha Diversion....for a little while.

So its off to Qatar, it seems as though even the politicians have gotten sick of Lebanon's status quo...Beirut is too unstable...Dubai is too saturated ....so Doha sounds just right. Call it a recess a breather, or a not so temporary ceasefire, before the rude rhetoric rebuilds and bullets reign over again. Expect to see cordial smiles, handshakes and camera poses while in Doha before the dreadful reality of returning to Beirut empty handedly.

The Second Lebanon War

Lebanon's political paralysis has reached its melting point, the fire has ignited, the lid has blown off, Beirut is now ablaze. The three year old tolerance-tension game between the March's has come to its decisive point in time and now the tugging of war has moved from the television screens to the deadly streets. Hizbullah has declared its state through war.

With an arsenal that has proven havoc-hell against the israeli's, the "former resistance organization' has now shifted roles from being a defensive entity into an offensive threat to Lebanons soviergnty. The so-called 22 years of credibility as a Resistance force has pulverised to dust in just seconds. Did Iran signal the barbaric seige of Lebanon, or did the West sound the bells of war? Memories of wars past will haunt us, but todays survival instincts will surpass all fears, taboos and red lines we vowed not to cross. Hizbullah has demonstrated an uncalled for military might and flex of muscle to the disgust of their fellow Lebanese at the untimely cost of their existence. The Shiaa sect of Lebanon has been savagely sliced away from their fellow patrons. This is Hizbullah's end. They have dug their own grave before removing the klashinokov from their flag. But then again, what purpose would their weaponless flag serve in being a resistance force with nothing to resist it seems but the hopes, dreams, and ambitions of their fellow Lebanese' lust for life.

The Ever-so-perfect Lifestyle...:)

Dress Italian, Drink Russian, Drive German, Dine Japanese, Do smoke Cuban, Date French, Debate like an American, Yet Live and Die Lebanese...

War on Whiskey, Wine, and Weekends...

By the looks of it, with the ongoing political stalemate plaguing the country, even the lurking nightlife glamour of Beirut has been hit with controversy, instability and failure. How do you paralyze an economy on the brink of total collapse? take away the need of any reasoning or justification on staying in Lebanon whatsoever. How would you convince anyone to remain in a country that has been without a president for the last six months, having the national parliament closed for nearly a year, run by a crippled government with limited authority, surviving through 25 plus massive car bombs, a 34 day summer war onslaught, and massive demonstrations every now and then?
Need a hint...live for the Gemmayze Glitter.

Beirut does not abide by rules, regulations, codes, by laws, or the like. It is reknown for being the city that never surrendered; the city that never died; the city that never sleeps. The city without curfews. If there is one thing that keeps Beirut going and growing, amidst the turmoil of today, its ' the living for the weekend spirit'. Now take that away, and i bet you politicans before ordinary citizens will start packing, throwing in the towel and boarding planes elsewhere. Its understandable that we dont seem to be getting along ' politically', but why do we have to involve the cigarettes we smoke, spirits we drink, and music we dance to in all this mess.

USS Cole is not the first!

Flashback Summer 06, during the 34 day aftermath of war, nations around the world sent civilian vessels and military ships like the one pictured above to the aid of Lebanon. USS Cole also has its own flashbacks of Yemen in 2000 and the aftermath of a suicide bombing and so would now probably prefer to sit idle 22 km out of Lebanons Territorial waters until further notice. Be it a show of strength, determination or moral support for the March 14 alliance, USS Cole's presence along with a fleet of other American navy vessels will surely turn many heads in the Opposions camp.

Moussa's Merry-Go Round

You sit on a round table to talk. Not shy away your looks and peek at the clock, waiting for the bell to ring. In Lebanon there is no bell, we've been waiting for it to ring for three decades. With another presidential postponement, for the 14th or so time, Mr. Berri might just as well keep delaying it beforehand to save us the agony of waiting. So Saad Harriri and Michel Aoun met, for the nth time with nothing in common to smile about. It seems like Amro Moussa has been enjoying his weekly flights in and out of Beirut to a point where utilizing his mediation skills have become of lesser importance than gaining frequent flyer miles.

10 reminders that Lebanon is still without a President

1. Michel Aoun is still on T.V.
2. Butros Harb still dyes his hair black.
3. Nassib Lahoud has learned to start speaking slower.
4. Amine Gemayel is losing it with Alzeimers disease.
5. Emile Lahoud is missed? getting more airtime, even on L.BC and Future tv.
6. Real Estate prices in Baabda have plunged.
7. Michel Sleiman has been taking private lessons in public speaking 101
8. Fouad Seniora has been seen smiling more often.
9. Amro Moussa has become a MEA Frequent Flyer member.
10. People still curse and complain to the government instead of the president.

Clocks of War

Tensions mount, tempers boil and rhetoric insults dash from side to side in Lebanons on going 3 year political saga. At first we hear news of embassies warning their expats to avoid travelling to lebanon in the next upcoming weeks. Next, we recieve word of cultural centers shutting down their doors in Sidon and Tripoli. In parallel, Imad Mughniyee is assasinated in a car bomb in Syria, Beiruts fueding sides flex their muscle in mass protests on the streets, Unifil member countries speak of a quick pullout from the south and El Sayid threatens for a misunderstood open war. The situation seems to be worsening by the day. Will there be a second lebanon war as it will be referred to in Israel which will yield different results and consequences? What are Hizbullahs motives this time around, with the war bells ringing from the West to go back and get the job done. I guess the Seniora Government will be squeezed in the middle once again on whos side to take.

Leave the Lebanese Army out of Politics.

Back...

After a years’ absence from writing on this blog, I’ve taken the time to recollect thoughts and shuffle through past events of 2007. We all look forward to tomorrow, the next day, the light at the end of the tunnel: a new year. Welcome 2008; hopefully free of political vengeance, personal vendettas, car bombs, regional imperialistic plots for demographic change, and pointless rhetoric. The last three years in Lebanon can be summarized in 3 words: hatred, terror and dispair. Lets hope the next three years will be decisive times for true leadership, nationalism, and stability.

Bombs, Assasinations, and Earthquakes

We've become accustomed to the daily string of bombs and assasinations in the ever-so undeveloping political situation in Beirut since 2005. Western aid along with Arab state donation of tents sent during the july 2006 war now have an alternative use, besides being utilized for camping grounds in the downtown opposition sit-in. Many villagers in the south, near the epicenter of the quake, have opted to sleep it out in the ' infamous tents' that have become a staple in the ongoing political saga of Lebanon. I wonder if those who have been staging the anti-government tent protests in downtown beirut would give our folks in the south some pointers on how to make it through the cold nights. Maybe this way their effortless two-year sit in would actually serve a purpose in the end; a good start in their plee for so called power sharing in a government they consider illegitimate.