... sailing away ...

posted by Lazarus, 4:38 PM 0 comments

...tourists...

posted by Lazarus, 7:14 PM 2 comments

Some Water Please ...

Later on, yesterday night ...

(at the bar)

Me: Hi, can I have some water?
Bartender (looks around): Oh, it's finished. We'll have some more soon.
Me: There's some water over there. (point around 2 meters from where she's standing)
B: Yes, but the bartender on that side isn't there.
Me: Ok ... do you mind going over to that side for a few seconds?
B: I can't. I need to provide people with their drinks on this side.

(I look behind me. There is no one behind me.)

Me: I don't think they'd mind if they wait a few seconds.
B: It still wouldn't be right.
Me: Do you mind if I go behind the counter?
B: I'm sorry, customers aren't allowed to do that.


------


Later on, walking to the car. There is a bag on the side of the sidewalk. Two girls are walking past it.

Girl 1: Look, there's a bag all alone. I wonder where the owner is.
Girl 2: Oh ... my ... God. It's probably a bomb. Go. Go.

posted by Lazarus, 10:08 AM 3 comments

He was only 21

Mustafa Medlej was only 21.

1985 - 2006

I doubt his family cared much for the "Lebanese War Medal" and the "Honorary Military Bronze Medal."

posted by Lazarus, 6:43 PM 3 comments

IMPORTANT

Which team to you support in the World Cup?

posted by Lazarus, 11:13 AM 12 comments

Don't forget - it's all for a good "Cause"

Sure. I do understand why they need their weapons. They want to liberate Palestine from their Zionist occupiers. They want to fight to the bone and regain all the land that was taken from them.

And really now, don’t you think they can do all this? They have the weapons. Oh, where are they doing this from? From Lebanon of course. Of course they can. You know, Palestinian militias are busy having their own civil war in Gaza, so the Palestinians can only depend on the freedom fighters located in Lebanon. They will eventually fight against those Zionists, but first they have to fight against the Lebanese. And don’t forget, they were kind enough to return the kidnapped soldier. Sweet. Well in that case, everything is ok. Everything is just peachy. The Palestinian cause lives on.

Lebanon dies just a little bit more? Don’t worry, it can handle itself. And don’t forget, it’s for the sake of a good cause, right? That’s true. Thanks for clarifying that, so in that case, sure. It’s no problem. Go right ahead.

posted by Lazarus, 7:45 AM 2 comments

A Simple Tale ...

This post should have been written May 15, but ...

I've spent countless hours listening to my grandmother (the only grandparent left) telling tales of her life; World War II, the 1948 war, her exodus from Haifa, life in Mount Lebanon, her experiences in Damascus, the time of Nasser, the atmosphere of 1967, etc. If I didn't do what I currently do, I might have spent time documenting the details - simply because her life was a life lived by many, and forgotten by most.

My grandfather (on my mother's side) is from a not-so-small family in Mount Lebanon. My grandmother's parents settled in what-became Palestine and what-is-now Israel, and she was born there. 1923.

In 1948, around 5 years after they had married, they left their land. That sounds euphemistic, doesn't it. "Left their land." That is how she would tell the tale. "Tarakna baladuna." And then she would pause for a few moments before she continues with her story. It was always that way. By 1948, she had already exprienced World War II, bombs in the distance, the night that never went dark, but she would continue and say that this was different. Tension was in the air. She did not want to leave - and they believed that what had happened in 1948 would blow over. "Our neighbors were 'Yahud'. They kept telling us that we should stay, that things would settle down. But we kept hearing news from other villages. Your uncle was only a few years old. Your grandfather said that he would come back when things had calmed down."

Calmed down.

That is the tale of the Middle East - its fatal flaw. Everything is claimed to eventually calm down.

Yet nothing ever does.

They did leave, never to go back. Her cousin was ill, and had decided that things would eventually "calm down". They never saw her again.

Their exodus was to Mount Lebanon to the rest of my grandfather's family. They settled down for six months, the key to their house in my grandmother's purse - she still has this key today - until things "calmed" down slightly and my grandfather decided to go back and work the olive trees.

The "calm", as it would for the next 58 years, exploded within a few weeks, and there was no word from him. Weeks and months passed. He was able to make it back 9 months later. During that time, he had tried to go back to their original home.

He couldn't find it.

They spent some time in Mount Lebanon since he was able to find temporary jobs, but eventually, he was offered a position in a British engineering company in Syria - it was a stable job, as my grandmother told me so many times. So off they went. My mother was born a few years later. And as they say, the rest is history ... but it never really is, is it?

"I had settled down, made friends, had just started raising a family. All of a sudden, I find myself in Damascus, with nobody to talk to. Your grandfather, allah yerhamo, would spend most of the day at work, and it took time before I eventually became friends with the neighbors."

She lived in Damascus for just over 40 years. 42 to be precise. She is now in Beirut, living above us. She did not have an easy life. Friends she had made had been killed - whether it was in Haifa or in Hama or in Beirut. Her elder son was chased out of an appartment in Beirut in 1976 because some demented "Pure Lebanese" had decided that he had "Palestinian blood" and thus did not deserve to live ... he hasn't stepped back in the Middle East since. Canada, unlike the region he was born in, has been a good home to him. Her younger daughter - my aunt - left to the US when she got married. Her husband - my grandfather - died in the early 80's, and she left Damascus 10 years later to live with her daughter - my mother - while her other son continued to work in Damascus for the next two years, until he was finally able to leave. Her son in law died in 1988. Her daughter in law died of cancer last year - only two years after she and my other uncle were married. She has 8 grandchildren - the oldest of which is 32, and the youngest of which has just turned 13.

She did not have an easy life. Yet her life, like so many others, will go undocumented.

She is 83 years old now.

This is my mother's mother's nakba. I have heard her tell her tale many times - and every single time, her eyes glaze over as she remembers life in all its ... this is where authors usually use the word "glory", but I doubt that is what it was ...

... her eyes glaze over as she simply remembers life.

posted by Lazarus, 10:28 AM 3 comments

"Where are they?" - Parents of the disappeared blast ineffectiveness of investigations

BEIRUT, 14 May (IRIN) - On 17 June 1982, some 60 Lebanese students were abducted from the Lebanese University in Hadath by the Lebanese Forces (LF) and brought before an LF military council. None of them were ever seen again.

According to SOLIDA (le Soutien aux Libanais Detenus Arbitrairement), about 17,000 Lebanese nationals went missing during the country's civil war from 1975 to 1990. Over the years, three committees have been set up to investigate the fate of the missing Lebanese, with little success.

Parliamentarian and human rights activist Ghassan Mokhaiber said he had already requested the government for information about the missing persons. "'I've not received an answer yet," he said. "I'll wait for a while, and then I'll forward the matter to parliament in order to question the Cabinet."

Continue here.

posted by Lazarus, 9:29 AM 1 comments

i think ...

... secularism is dead ...

posted by Lazarus, 4:58 PM 5 comments

A Challenge for the Coming Week!

Here's a thought:

For the coming week, starting from when you read this post (not when it is published!), try to do the following:

1 - Do not analyze everything that happens in Lebanon (or the Middle East) as a battle of the sects.

For example:

a - Sect X did this to spite Sect Y but little did they know that Sect Z would sneak in like the sly devils they usually are and win this round.

2 - Do not stamp individuals with sectarian stereotypes.

For example:

a - Oh, Omar is Sunni, so it is expected he thinks like that.

3 - When mentioning Lebanese "leaders", do not automatically append the sect they apparently represent to their name.

For example:

a - Michel Aoun, the Maronite leader.

4 - Repeat the following every morning when you wake up.

a - No to Sectarianism
b - No to Sectarianism
c - No to Sectarianism
d - etc.

And feel free to add other ideas to the comment section below.

posted by Lazarus, 11:14 AM 3 comments

The "Art" of Arguing - what not to do ...

I find it interesting when people make their arguments not by arguing the ideas, but rather by using cliches and cliches and cliches. But let's not step into that quagmire. I also find it interestingly annoying when people use "famous" intellectuals to make their point.

"Oh Professor _______ said _______ , so I MUST be right since he agrees with me."

"What, you didn't read the latest article by ________ ? He basically said everything I have been saying, which shows that you are wrong and I am right."

To me, that is the same as choosing lines from the Quran and saying "Oh look, Islam is violent" since it is always possible to counter argue by choosing yet some other lines from the Quran and saying "No, Islam is peaceful".*

You can ALWAYS find a famous somebody who supports your point of view - but that doesn't make it the "truth".

If your ideas aren't self-sustainable, then there is the chance that your ideas are messed up. I used to envy people who were so sure about their ideas, but over the years I have learned that persistently insisting on an idea (without being open to other options) usually implies that the persistent individual has his** own issues to solve ... (please note the use of "usually", i.e. there are exceptions to this).

In general, there are a few rules of thumb to keep in mind when arguing for the sake of "changing" a mentality (that you THINK is wrong):

1 - Do not insist on quoting people who support your views. There is a very high chance that those you are arguing with will not listen once you start mentioning other names, simply because they can come up with their own names. And no, that doesn't mean they are stupid, because you'll probably do the same thing ... (note: this is not the case for an academic paper, in which more references are better)

2 - Do not use the same argument over and over again, like some energizer bunny that is stuck in a corner. If the "other guy" doesn't "get it", and if you are arrogant enough to believe that you hold the key to the "holy grail of truth", then find some other argument to persuade him. Shouting will not help. Being insultingly "witty" will weaken your argument (besides reflecting badly on you).

3 - Do not buy into propaganda. Admittedly, this is probably the most difficult "rule of thumb" to implement. I hinted at it in the meaningless interview post I had before, but if you need to use some quotes, do not quote Tayyar when arguing against Hariri, because you will only get half (if not a quarter) of the story. Likewise, you cannot just use Future TV or LBC when arguing against Hezbollah, because more often then not, they will distort the news so much that ... well, I can't think of a civilized metaphor right now, so let's just leave it up to your imagination. (note: these examples will eventually change ...)

-----

What is the point of all this? I can discuss the generalities and the philosophical pointlessness of the above, but in order to create a framework that most can readily relate to, let's just focus on one problem: The current "Great March 14" vs. "Evil March 8 and FPM" issue.

I think its time people acknowledge that hailing the oh (not so) great March 14 politicians as saviors of Lebanon and cursing the living hell out of Hezbollah/Amal/FPM is unhealthy (in more ways then one). They both have their bad and their good (though which way the scales tilt is up for debate). Foaming at the mouth whenever someone says a word that begins with "Hez..." or "Aou..." is immature. Likewise, cursing the &@#$ out of the March 14ers just for the sake of cursing the &@#$ out of them is also childish. (and no, I'm not saying that I am innocent of either).

You can call me indecisive for not "choosing" a side (although I'd prefer the more interesting "social constructionist" tag), but I won't and will not for one primary reason:

1 - I think its insane to choose a position based on an unrealistic and superficial black and white spectrum.

There is a large grey region that many seem not to want to touch.

Why?

Arguing only for black or white (or in this case: yellow, orange, blue, etc ...) implies that you have a large chasm you still need to cross - the chasm between being "righteous" and "all-knowing" to that of being "more in tune with reality".

Very little "good" will happen until we are able to cross that chasm ...

-----

*Lest the sectarian devils get hold of me for using the Quran as opposed to the Bible, you can replace "Quran" with "Bible".

**Lest the sexism devils get hold of me, you can replace all the "he" with "she" and all the "him" with "her".

***I take no responsibility for any inconsistency in the above argument. This wasn't me. I wasn't here.

posted by Lazarus, 11:18 PM 6 comments

Dear God ... not ANOTHER petition ...

By LFPM ...

I wonder if they see the irony of it all ...

posted by Lazarus, 11:13 AM 2 comments

Protest # 1283977

posted by Lazarus, 8:02 AM 3 comments

Illogical Protest

The Future Movement and other members of the government are going to protest against themselves.

They are going to protest against themselves.

They are going to protest against themselves.

They are going to protest against themselves.

Nope. Repeating it doesn't help.

I know that these "leaders" are smart chaps. Sharp. So since I'm apparently mentally slow, I probably should check some definitions.

1 - Protest: To openly oppose the beliefs or actions of the powers-that-be.

2 - Opposition: A political party opposed to the party in power and prepared to replace it if elected.

Nope. Their actions are still unexplainable. More definitions? Sure ...

3 - Idiot: imbecile, cretin, moron, person of subnormal intelligence.

4 - Bullshit: Nonsense, Deceptive, insincere or pretentious talk. Derivative: Bullshitter.

Hmmm. Get the picture?

And to think - that all this is just a more "adult" version of:

My daddy is bigger than yours. No my daddy is bigger than yours. No my daddy is ...

posted by Lazarus, 10:07 PM 6 comments

And it continues ...

posted by Lazarus, 4:35 PM 0 comments

Rules for Interviews

I've just finished watching Samir Geagea's interview on LBC (yes, I know, a few days late). Due to extreme laziness, I will not comment on the actual interview, but I would like to propose some rules so that future interviews will be more ... let's just say "more constructive".

1 - Geagea cannot be interviewed on LBC or Future TV.
2 - Hariri cannot be interviewed on LBC or Future TV.
3 - Jumblatt cannot be interviewed on LBC of Future TV.
4 - Nasrallah cannot be interviewed on Al-Manar or NBN (or OTV, whenever that comes out).
5 - Aoun cannot be interviewed on Al-Manar or NBN.

etc.

posted by Lazarus, 11:55 AM 2 comments

Political Wisdom

Emile Lahoud: The majority is fictitious ... (his standard comment)

Walid Eido (in response to Lahoud): No. The President is fictitious ...

I am rubber you are glue whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you ...

posted by Lazarus, 6:20 PM 5 comments

Calling for Arab Democracy

has become the topic du jour.

The great Prince Talal, whose book is now plastered to the shelves of every bookstore I have been - and no, I haven't read it, nor will I probably ever read it - has stated that the Arab slogans for Arab reform are just words that need to be put into practice.

He then started using Saudi Arabia as the epitome of democracy, where all the kings and princes were elected by popular vote, and all the oil was shared among the citizens, and all minorities and foreign workers had their civil rights, and that the other nations in MENA should heed well to take the Saudi example to heart and follow it. (ok, he didn't say any of this).

Doesn't he realize that he has just joined the ranks of Arabs who just use words to discuss democracy as opposed to really implementing it? Walla, if I had the power, I would call for a fatwa on "talk" that is not PRECEDED with "action". But I don't, so I won't.

posted by Lazarus, 8:17 AM 2 comments

Universal hypocrisies

Edited

Today's hypocrisy is any verbal statement that is preceded with a denial. For example (in no particular order):

1 - I am not a muslim, but I like muslims.
2 - I am not a christian, but I like christians.
3 - I am not homosexual, but I believe homosexuals have rights.
4 - I am not black, but blacks deserve the same civil rights.

and my personal favorite:

5 - I do not support anyone (i.e. independent), but I truly think Party X sincerely cares about Lebanon and will do anything to make Lebanon better ...

posted by Lazarus, 8:27 PM 4 comments

what is up with poetic op-eds?

Rami Khoury is strange.

Full disclosure from the start: I am a great admirer of Turkey. Of course I am glad that four centuries of Ottoman control over the Arab world ended after World War I, yet I wish that Turks and Arabs had more regular encounters so that the modern Turkish experience could rub off on us and inspire us. I admire not only the history, power and astounding rhythms of Istanbul, which twice ruled pivotal regions of the world in the Byzantine and Ottoman eras. I also admire its ongoing trajectory to modernity.

Turkey can teach several important lessons to two groups of people who seem to be increasingly at odds with one another: nationally distressed and wobbly Arabs, and a United States-led West that views Arab Islamist parties that have triumphed in elections with perplexity and hostility.

I am a Turkey fan because the Arab world's large, predominantly Middle Eastern and Muslim northern neighbor is seriously addressing all those core issues of nationhood, citizenship and modernity that the countries of the Middle East generally avoid. These include important challenges like making a full democratic transformation, deepening Turkey's secular tradition, coming to terms with a pluralistic identity, integrating Islamists into the political system, fostering civilian control over the military, grappling with the status of minorities and historical traumas, strengthening human rights guarantees, promoting a truly productive economy, maintaining a vibrant civil society, steadily reforming a country to become eligible for European Union membership while not losing sight of Turkey's links with the Middle East and Central Asia, and forging a new, more dignified, less servile, and mutually beneficial relationship with the U.S. Any country that does all this simultaneously, as Turkey is doing, is impressive in my book.

...

OK.

posted by Lazarus, 10:50 AM 0 comments

Forget Iraq ...

posted by Lazarus, 8:18 AM 2 comments

Nasrallah's propaganda makes perfect sense ...

... if you were born today.

Those who watched news yesterday night would have seen him give his speech. So now the Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported Lebanon over the past 20+ years, and has constantly called for unity?

Wow. I wasn't so sure, but that statement clarifies everything. I guess Iran = Go(o)d. And stupid me thought otherwise. Thanks man for the heads up.

posted by Lazarus, 10:55 AM 1 comments

News Roundup

Date: May 2, XXXX

Maronite blah blah Shi`ite blah blah Sunni blah blah Maronite blah blah Druze blah blah Sunni blah blah Orthodox blah blah Druze blah blah Catholic blah blah Shi`ite blah blah ...

posted by Lazarus, 12:23 AM 3 comments

A Country Left Behind

I'm sure she agrees that Shebaa is Lebanon's primary concern.

posted by Lazarus, 8:16 AM 3 comments