Redirect ...

New blog.

posted by Lazarus, 8:14 PM

The End.

Thanks for reading.

Best of luck with life.

- L.

posted by Lazarus, 3:08 PM

young's "sectarian" fallacy.

michael young, opinion editor of the daily star, has written an article "in praise of lebanese sectarianism." although there are many points in this article i disagree with, most disagreements arise from our different constructs, and thus, i will not discuss them. however, i would like to concentrate on his conclusion, because it (and the argument leading to it) is a commonality in various discussions i have had with "pro-sectarianists." young's conclusion - found in the first paragraph - is that "sectarianism, for all its demonstrable shortcomings, is the only system reflecting the true nature of social relations".

unfortunately, such a conclusion is fallacious; the fallacy, in as few words as possible, is this: young uses anecdotal evidence to create his argument that sectarianism is the only system for lebanon. however, the main reason there is not much (if any) anecdotal evidence in lebanon to the contrary (which would have been enough to disprove his conclusion) is that sectarianism is the ONLY system lebanon has ever tried.

in short, like many others, young has created a strawman.

but enough logical tennis. we, as a lebanese society, need to seriously consider how de-confessionalising our political establishment will fare with respect to the current system. such deconfessionalisation does not come with a blank slate of projected perfection, and with this is mind, we need to make a decision. imagine if you will a patient with several diseases which have led to almost complete paralysis (but will not lead to death). there is a possible cure for one of these diseases, but like everything else in life, this cure is not a certainty. there is a chance of success, in which the patient will gain some form of mobility, but on the other hand, there is also a chance of failure, in which the patient will live a life (possibly much) worse off than his current situation. should this patient proceed with the operation? what information does he need to decide?

sectarianism, or political confessionalism, is one of the ills in lebanon (young seems to agree with this notion, as mentioned in paragraph 2). although a long-term strategy for the deconfessionalisation of our confessional system can potentially introduce great benefits, it can also yield destructive blowbacks. only after gathering information with regards to these different scenarios, such as their likelihood and the possible introduction of methods that mitigate various and justified worries (such as introducing a system of civil liberties and rights), can we really make the best decision of whether to simply "modify" the current system, as young and others suggest, or to deconfessionalise it. fallacious arguments are, and always have been, useless for such discussions, and the resulting decisions.

posted by Lazarus, 11:55 PM 15 comments

The Scent of "Divine Victory."

in case you're interested ...

If you've ever wondered what resistance smells like, then try a dab of "Resistance Perfume," which comes "exclusively" with a political message and a picture of Hizbullah's secretary general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Apparently, the scent of resistance is a strong and musky one that comes with a single pledge - "a truthful" one.

"You are the truthful promise ... and I have great faith in you and I promise you divine victory," is the perfume's slogan, borrowed from one of Nasrallah's speeches during the July-August war with Israel.

A digitally manipulated picture of a sinking ship, meant to represent the Israeli warship damaged by a Hizbullah missile during the conflict, along with reprints of Nasrallah's speeches and messages from the "Lebanese prisoners in Israeli prisons" - are all part of the perfume's package, turning a cover into a political message.

"We thought it was a catchy idea, as now the perfume is more than something that smells nice, it is a political statement," said Mohammad Dekmak, who heads Bint Huda, a chain of stores in Beirut's southern suburbs that started selling the perfume this month.

The $1 perfume is being marketed as a unisex product, but is mainly popular with men.

...

posted by Lazarus, 11:51 PM 2 comments

Riddle.

Around a week ago, I had a conversation with a friend about something he was looking into getting.

Question: What were we talking about?

----------

Me: Your sister told me you were thinking of getting X?

Him: Eh walla. I think it's about time we get one. Almost everyone seems to have one.

Me: Where are you getting one from?

Him: This one is from A. We heard that getting one from B would be cheaper, but the quality isn't as good.

Me: Can you find them here?

Him: Eh, but we heard that ones that have already been here for more than a year have problems. We are trying to order it from outside.

Me: Can you choose the one you want?

Him: Yes. You go to one of the offices here, and you can choose from a pamphlet. It contains pictures and a short description.

Me: Well, what if you don't like the one you chose?

Him: Different offices have different policies. The one we went to allows us to use X for two months. If we don't like it, we can return it to the office.

Me: Sort of like a warranty.

Him: Exactly. And if we like it, we continue payment.

Me: And what will you do with X on Sundays.

Him: We'll just keep it in the house. I want this to last for more than a year!


----------

What were we talking about?

To see the answer, please highlight the white space below.

Answer: A "maid" from Ethiopia. Although the more correct term is probably "slave." The cheaper one is from Sri lanka. The pamphlet contains pictures of their faces, with a description of age and other details. After two months of "testing" it, you then apply for a longer visa and a work permit; otherwise, you can return it for another one. And of course, they get basically no time off. Even on Sundays. Not even with friends.

-----------

posted by Lazarus, 1:05 AM 4 comments

the economy.

as various political players continue to compensate for personal insecurities by hurling accusations and (im)mobilizing people, the lebanese economy is slowly but surely evaporating. several multinational technology companies have had a significant drop in sales within the lebanese market over the past year and a half, and the current bulk of their revenue comes from long-term deals closed over a year ago. even the quota for employees has been reduced in recognition of the faltering tempo of business. internet service providers have been shifting their focus from lebanese markets to international markets over the past year or so to compensate for the inability to grow and foster healthy competition. website ventures, which require bandwidth, have moved to cleaner waters in other countries in the MENA region; they had originally planned out their business model keeping in mind that lebanon would soon introduce DSL, a first step to increasing international bandwidth - of course, DSL still hasn't been introduced. at least two local investment firms have reduced their staff to the bare minimum and have almost closed shop. a private school has less than 50% payment rate (down from 90%), and has been lax in asking parents with economic hardships to keep up with tuition payments. local design firms have spent most of the last year in damage control, compensating for broken contracts and changes in schedules and demands, and as a result, have maintained ZERO growth, which in any industry is tantamount to "death." longterm contracts in general are hard to plan for because they rely on concepts such as "expected" revenue and expenses - a concept that does not work well with the current atmosphere. what business can survive on short-term planning? in fact, the only businesses that seem to gloss over these political "earthquakes" are those that operate in international markets, and thus are not a function of local fluctuations. yet some of these firms have recently relocated outside lebanon. even our hotel industry is no longer a strong competitive force in the region - one of the best hotels in MENA is actually found in our lovely southern friend. two VC-like firms / business incubators have all but moved from lebanon - even though they have received funding from individuals in the "moderate" nation of saudi arabia, they have not been able to find any viable investment opportunity with reliable revenue projections. and yet none of the political elite have such issues on their platforms, except in meaningless phrases such as "improving the economy." even the current tax system is simplistic, and does not differentiate between luxuries and needs. tax brackets on income need to improve, but why anyone would accept paying 20% on their salary in lebanon with the knowledge that most of it goes to private mansions is beyond me. the country is on the verge of an inflation explosion and bad policies such as pegging the lira to the dollar for 15 years will eventually backfire. economical ecosystems within lebanon have not matured and infrastructure has not been developed, yet we seem so proud that lebanese are successful when they reside outside lebanon. we are so proud of our history and our trilingual abilities. we are so proud of our almost extinct cedars and our polluted coast. we our proud of our uniqueness, not understanding that there is nothing unique about our internal makeup or our wonderfully uncivil war, or that there is nothing unique about the lack of internal political and economic development. we are so proud of the intelligence of lebanese, yet are too proud to learn lessons from others, and to "stand on the shoulders of giants" with the aim of creating a viable, self-sustainable, and self-correctable political and economic system.

but hey, what am i talking about. all this will be dealt with at a later stage, because we have an existential crisis on our hands, and thus it should absorb all our energies.

of course, isn't it odd that we seem to have an existential crisis year after year after year ... starting from (insert year of birth) ...

posted by Lazarus, 4:03 AM 5 comments

book VII.

j.k. rowling has released the title for the last in a fascinating series of children novels: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

yes, i am a harry potter aficionado.

NEW YORK (AP) -- We now have a title for Book VII: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

Rowling's U.S. publisher, Scholastic Inc., released a brief statement Thursday announcing the name of the world's most anticipated children's book, the finale to her phenomenally popular fantasy series.

No publication date or other details were offered. Rowling is still working on the book, she explained on her Web site in an entry posted early Thursday.

posted by Lazarus, 2:21 PM 0 comments

aub student elections: dirty games?

aub student elections 2006. two main groups compete with each other for university seatings. these groups reflect national parties. for now, let's just call the two competing groups: group A and group B.

incident 1 ->

member "a" from group A and member "b" from group B have a drink on one of the weekends before the elections. both "a" and "b" are heavily involved in these elections. "a" reports sick on monday - the initial rumor was that she had food-poisoning - and then goes to the dean a few days later. she had with her some lab results from the hospital, which showed an "excess" of some form of opiate, and she has accused "b" of drugging her. this issue is now being dealt with through other channels.

incident 2 ->

various helpers - individuals who are not heavily involved in the elections - for group A received threatening phone calls from certain thugs (who also threatened the families of these helpers - how cliche) pressuring them to reduce the time and effort they have spent on these elections.

---

posted by Lazarus, 2:17 PM 0 comments

taboo.

posted by Lazarus, 7:17 AM 3 comments

copyright infringement!

several months ago, right after the war, i published a post which had a modified version of the lebanese flag. (link to flag)

today, while walking somewhere around 5 minutes from Sodeco, I came across this.



considering that the resemblance in the flags is uncanny (there is a main difference though), and that i clearly came up with the concept first, i believe i am entitled to some credit.

who should i contact? advice from lawyers, for once, is welcome.

posted by Lazarus, 6:41 AM 3 comments

worshipping men.

posted by Lazarus, 7:35 AM 6 comments

you will never be given a visa

he silently stood, facing the consul.

the consular officer repeated "you will never be given a visa by this embassy. you have no travel record."

he quickly pulled out some papers. "but i'm a general manager, i have good pay, i want to introduce my new wife to my family."

the consul quipped "they all live in the united states, don't they. because of that, and since you don't have any travel experience, you are unqualified to receive a visa."

"but we were going to have our honeymoon this summer. we were going to cyprus and to greece, but the war broke out. now we want to go visit for two weeks, over christmas."

"i'm sorry sir. you are unqualified."

the manager walked away from the stall, and out of the embassy, his wife by his side.

"will ______ come to window 5?"

an old man slouched to the stall. the consul, while typing some notes, demanded "why do you want to go to the states."

"i want to visit."

"who will you visit?"

"my children."

"do you have any immediate family in lebanon."

"no."

"i'm sorry sir, i will not be able to give you a visa."

"will _____ come to window 5?"

a young woman - around her thirties - stands up and walks towards the consul. he does the usual rounds. "why do you want to go to the states?"

she replies "i've been accepted as an assistant professor at _____ in the field of ______."

"what papers from the university do you have with you?"

she hands over a file, and after some back and forth, he concludes "come back and pick up your passport after 3 days."

"will ________ come to window 5?"

an old woman picks up her cane and almost trips on her way to the window. he begins with the usual "why do you want to go to the states?"

"i want to visit my son."

"what family do you have in lebanon?"

"i have a daughter with me."

"i'm sorry, i will not be able to give you a visa."

"why not? i haven't seen my son and his family in 7 years."

"you are unqualified." he pulls out a sheet of paper, and presses it against the pane of glass separating them. his finger traces the phrase "must have sufficient social and economic ties."

she seems tense. "i haven't seen them in 7 years. i tried applying before, but you rejected my application. i have papers here ... from my family ... an invitation."

"i'm sorry. you are unqualified for a visa to the united states of america."

"do you need more papers?"

"i'm sorry. you are unqualified for a visa to the united states of america."

---

posted by Lazarus, 1:04 PM 9 comments

picture of the week.

if al-akhbar newspaper is going to be given credit for anything - and there is quite a bit it can be given credit for - it is the silently funny pictures it seems to have on their front-page.

posted by Lazarus, 10:13 PM 7 comments

mini-comment: harb and sfeir.

yesterday, boutros harb said that cardinal sfeir should choose the swing minister if the government is updated and expanded into a "new and improved" structure. excluding the notion that this new formula of 19-1-10 (thrown on another heap of failed and ill-fit lebanese formulas that only achieve short-term stability, as opposed to long-term) already is "odd", it should be stated that harb's suggestion is also "odd." just a mini-comment.

posted by Lazarus, 2:35 PM 1 comments

comments.

before the early nbn news today, hajj hussein khalil had a press conference in which he revealed some "letters" concerning saad hariri, hezbollah's weapons, israel, and the summer war. just now, al-moustaqbal replied to the not so implicit accusations. it should be noted that one of the recent strengths - for better or for worse - of the so-called opposition is that it has been able to control the topics within the national discourse. march 14 and the government spend their time replying to all accusations - true or untrue - as opposed to setting a unique and dominating beat, which just reflects their own weakness as an entity. the opposition has even stolen the word "opposition" - something march 14 had kept solely for themselves. even though they technically stopped being the opposition over a year ago, people like geagea still want to be referred to as the "opposition", as he stated quite explicitly yesterday in a press conference. again, that need is just a reflection of weakness and a lack of long-term strategy. even though such political entities may live day by day, they need to be able to define a thread that ties together days within a certain time window, so that they at least appear proactive as opposed to simply reactive. it is no surprise that march 14 has not been able to do that.

on another note, please let me know if you have been able to understand anything siniora has said to his seraille groupies in the past 4 - 5 days. i'd like to know if his being cooped up has had an effect on his mental coherence, or if my being jet-lagged is the main reason i'm having trouble with all his speeches.

posted by Lazarus, 11:05 AM 0 comments

power to clerics.

i just finished watching part of an early broadcast of nbn news and out of the 20 minutes i watched, 10 of them must have been taken up by the lovely faces and godly comments of religious figures, each of which providing support for various leaders. it's good to see that they are being "elevated" in political circles, since they are the solution to all of lebanon's problems. seriously. i must admit that i have always looked to religious figures for refined guidance and heavenly messages.

ok, that last sentence was a lie. when i was in high school, for a creative english writing class i wrote a short play on a morally and economically corrupt priest - it took place in a confessional - and all the recent idiocy wisdom handed down to us by these men of god have given me much material that can be used to update that childhood folly. all in good time.

posted by Lazarus, 7:47 AM 0 comments

way too much faith.

All we want is a unity government, with or without Siniora. If Sayyed Hassan accepts a unity government with Siniora, then we accept it too. After all, he has our best interests [at heart].

However, I doubt very much our leaders would accept any compromise solutions because they are doing this for our benefit.

"We are against this government because they are not working for the Lebanese," he said. "If Hizbullah was not working for the Lebanese, then we would be against them, and we would be sitting here protesting against them too."

but the one that brought a smile to my face, and one that seems to be echoed by our wonderfully esteemed leaders and citizens, is this:

I really hope that Moussa can give us a solution that will end all the problems in Lebanon.

posted by Lazarus, 3:37 AM 2 comments

confused.

michel aoun is adamantly stating that he is anti-corruption, yet he continues to chill with michel murr.

posted by Lazarus, 12:11 PM 2 comments

snapshot.

a thesis by anu kulkarni entitled "Demons and Demos: Violence, Memory and Citizenship in Post-Conflict States" (copyright 2005). another truly fascinating read. a snapshot of the abstract is provided below.

My work poses a fundamental, yet unexplored question in the study of democracy and post-conflict reconstruction: How do past political violence and the ways in which societies address the consequences of repression, war, and large-scale human rights violations affect the development of citizenship in post-conflict democraces?

My research examines the individual and collective effects of deadly conflict and the political dynamics of memory and accountability processes, like truth commissions, and other mechanisms, to formulate a theory of citizenship development in post-conflict democracies. I argue that the emotive, relational and institutional effects of deadly conflict present barriers to individual and collective political expression that remain long after transitions to democracy are implemented. Political passivity is one consequence of fear in populations harmed by extreme violence. Memory and accountability processes, including truth commissions and other mechanisms, contribute to the development of citizenship under some circumstances by creating opportunities for political expression, alleviating some effects of residual fear and mediating political beliefs through the shaping of personal and public memory of violence. But the extent to which they do so is limited by key conditions, especially the degree, intensity and timing of prior violence; the type of conflict; the distribution of power; and the type of agreement that terminates the conflict.

do the themes sound familiar?

posted by Lazarus, 12:08 PM 1 comments

fyi.

someone on my msn contact list has the following message after her name:

Apes have invaded downtown!!

she is someone, by the way, who prided herself on being educated - both academically and socially ...

so much for that.

posted by Lazarus, 11:21 PM 3 comments