Ramblings of a Lebanese Hopeful

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Moscow has announced it is ready to sell new weapons to Syria, triggering alarm from Israel.

The big boys may argue all they want, but can you guess who will get screwed over in the end, comme d'habitude? The answer is Lebanon.

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:40:00 +0000

This country has torn itself apart for ever; the differences are implacable. If everyone in the crowd watching Mika stopped, and sat, and started talking about their beliefs and about how to solve problems, they would probably come to blows. Everyone here has deeply held affiliations, inherited and totally incompatible with the views of their friends. Who can blame them for skirting around the issue and thinking instead about society, style and about how great they're going to look after their surgeon is finished with them?

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:39:00 +0000

Judging from the political vacuum that today exists among Tripoli's Sunnis, the Syrians may just be right. The Future Movement's representatives in the North are not liked at the street level. Saad Hariri is respected, but given that he has yet to create a political center of gravity in Tripoli, the approval could begin to fray - indeed is already showing unsettling signs of fraying. Hariri will have to be careful in the elections next year. Depending on which alliances take shape he may be unable to take his entire list into Parliament, and this could be a blow to his prestige. Even some politicians close to the Hariri camp are wondering whether they would not be better off standing as independents.

Just stick to the basics, BBC

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:49:00 +0000

The BBC is probably the most objective, reliable, and balanced Western news resource out there. Factual, up-to-the-minute reporting, ultra cautious analysis, and that trademark dry, British tone are what we have become accustomed to expecting from the British Broadcasting Corporation...

That's why I sort of have to kick myself when I read something like this on their website:

Tripoli has a large Sunni Muslim majority who, culturally at least, seem very Syrian - given the city's proximity to Syria's coastal cities.

"[G]iven the city's proximity to Syria's coastal cities"? Really? So is Marjayoun in the south of Lebanon culturally similar to Israel because of it's proximity to their Northern settlements? I mean culturally anyway, whether we Lebanese admit or deny it, we are pretty similar to Syrians anyway. Just give us the facts BBC, and stick to the basics, please...

U.S. Embassy: 670 Iraqis Approved for Permanent Resettlement in U.S.

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:02:00 +0000

Some things really irritate me. This story on Naharnet is one of them.

"The U.S. government is committed to resettling 12,000 of the most vulnerable Iraqi refugees by September 30. The United States has accepted 7,789 Iraqi refugees for resettlement since 2007," the embassy said.

The statement added that since 2003, the U.S. government has been the largest contributor to programs assisting displaced Iraqis, funding programs for food, health, education, water, sanitation and emergency shelter.

Reminded me a little of something I studied in economics: Bastiat's broken window fallacy. The story goes that a little boy breaks a baker's store window, but the economic benefits and work this will subsequently create outweigh any wrongdoing on his part (glazier creating new glass window, glazier buying baker's bread, and so forth).

Well it seems the US is engaging in a little broken window fallacy too, and letting us know what a great service it is doing for the Iraqi people by being the "largest contributor to programs assisting displaced Iraqis." Sort of like someone taking a huge dump in your backyard and sending you the bill for cleaning it up in the mail, if you ask me.

I'm back

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:53:00 +0000

I've been gone for way too long. I miss blogging, but I've been in between working, vacationing and taking in all the nonsense that is Lebanon.

By the way, I hope no one was ever fooled about my sarcasm regarding the hope I have for Lebanon. I thought I was clear about only being "Hopeful" for Lebanon, as in my description, with quotation marks to indicate sarcasm/indecision. Actually, it's not that I'm not Hopeful for Lebanon, just that I have doubts about being hopeful for the Lebanese. Anyhow, I promise to be a more active blogger from now on. Please keep reading and send me your comments always.

Shame.

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 08:23:00 +0000

Just like when a tsunami hits a Southeast Asian country and indiscriminately wipes out thousands, and the only numbers of discrete value in the press are the "1 American and 2 (fill in blank with any Western country)" that also die in the disaster, it seems that Lebanese craziness that doesn't happen in Beirut doesn't really seem to matter to the Lebanese.

There's an isolated mini-civil war going on in Tripoli, in the north. Nearly a dozen people were killed over the last week, and an explosion there today killed 2 people and injured 20.

But as long as the Grey Goose Vodka keeps pouring and "White" and "Sky Bar" keep the glamorous Beiruti skyline lit, no one seems to give a damn.

Saudization tries too hard...

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:17:00 +0000

Saudization refers to Saudi Arabia's national policy to encourage more Saudis to work in the private sector, rather than to play Wii and Playstation and/or rub off dead skin from between their toes all day long.

My own father got slapped on the derriere with the Saudization sandal in 2001, when his boss told him that they no longer needed him as General Manager at one of Saudi Arabia's largest insurance firms, and put a Saudi man in his place. However, when they realized that the new guy had the intelligence of a halogen lamp, they called my father back up and offered him the job again, to which he politely declined...

Anyway, Saudization has met with little success, as there is a great dependency on foreign worker aid, especially for lower income, "menial" services jobs, often filled by Southeast Asian expats, often under inhuman working conditions and physical and psychological abuse.

Nonetheless, Ghazi Algosaibi, Saudi Arabia's Labor Minister, is trying to give Saudization new life. Apparently, this week, the Minister worked as a waiter for three hours in a fast-food restaurant , in a humbling, "you can do it too," sort of way.

So let us humor Mr. Algosaibi a little, shall we. Let's say Saudis start taking more fast-food restaurant jobs. McDonalds, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Kudu, Herfy, Burger King, Crepaway, Fuddruckers and shawarma joints - all their Indian, Pakistani, Afghani, and Filipino employees gone, and in their place, Saudis. Two things would happen:

(1) All these new Saudi employees would hire back the Indians, Pakistanis, Afghanis and Filipinos to do all the work for them anyway, and hook up their Wii and Playstations in the back room, doing nothing to the Saudis' dependency on foreign workers, and

(2) Work-related hazards and incidents would increase, including thobes and ghutras, the Saudi traditional garb, getting stuck in heavy machinery (think of a ghutra headpiece getting stuck in a Pizza hut conveyor oven, or a sandal flip-flop slip on spilled vegetable oil), which would beckon the return of foreign aid workers anyway.

Mr. Algosaibi, I admire your heartfelt attempts to create change, but I think that the Playstation will still win out.

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:20:00 +0000

Don't hate the playah, Micho, hate the game...

Dubai at risk of attack?

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:19:00 +0000

Apparently, the Brits have announced that the United Arab Emirates is at high risk of a terrorist attack, presumably from Al-Qaeda or a similar group.

I say don't you fret, jihadis! Your checks are already in the mail, but you know how slow the mailing system is here in the Middle East!

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:25:00 +0000

Yayyyy for Lebanon.

The official's comments buttressed recent signals from Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group that a deal was in the works to trade Samir Kantar, a Lebanese operative of the PLO, for Israeli soldiers Uri Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.

How refreshing...

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Lebanon’s TV and print media scene was dynamic, provocative and covered hot topics way before Osama bin Laden put Aljazeera (and by extension its politically promiscuous Qatari patron) on the map.

Given recent events over the past three years, Lebanese political talk shows have had no shortage of topics to cover. Israel, Syria, assassinations, bombings, tit-for-tats between March 8 and March 14, internecine war, you name it…

In consideration of the euphoria surrounding St. Michel Suleiman’s recent election, however, it seems that people have moved on. Talk shows seems more into infotainment these days. For example, tonight, Al-Jadeed (former New TV) brought clown Wi’am Wahhab as the principal guest on the episode to discuss Saudi-US relations and petrol politics. Wahhab was so excited: he came prepared with statistics and quotes, and was being all scholarly-like. It was about as ludicrous as watching a prostitute give a lecture on abstinence and chastity.

The media again seems to want to talk about quality of life, and not quantity of life. The Daily Star’s editorial yesterday wasn’t condemning the political class for robbing citizens of their lives – it was condemning Electricite du Liban (and by extension the political class) of robbing the citizenry of their livelihoods. Marcel Ghanem’s Kalam elNas today was talking about stolen cars and corruption…

Lebanon is back my friends. Little will change on the ground. But at least we can have more interesting talk debates.

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:36:00 +0000

Some of my readers have told me that I lose scope of my target and dillute the identity of this blog by writing about non-Lebanese issues, and rightfully so. But I cannot but write about the unbelievable biases I see in the American media when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Why is it that aggression against Israelis is unjust, unprompted and always has a human face, whereas aggression against Palestinians is deserved, reactionary and devoid of any human consequence?

Israeli Ironies

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:29:00 +0000

Peace is seldom "equitable," and is always on the terms of the victor.

A little RSS snippit from my iGoogle desktop:

Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:28:00 +0000

Iran surely had a positive and constructive role in helping Lebanese to achieve an accord and we thanked this country for this positive role,” Aoun told...

He called on all “foreign friends and parties” to respect Lebanon’s “independence and sovereignty” and avoid blocking efforts to resolve the problems.

People often compare soundbytes or infobytes that Aoun has made over the past three years to point to inconsistencies made throughout his political career...But my friends, these comments were made in the very same interview!

The Jury's Verdict:

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 08:15:00 +0000

The US and Israel do not see eye to eye on Lebanon. Washington sees real value in preserving the only democratically-elected pro-west Arab Government. If Israel doesn't start to recognize the significant, but fleeting moment of March 14 soon, this fragile bulwark against Iranian hegemony in the Levant may disappear.
Although it is a bitter pill for peacemakers in the Jewish state to swallow, by trucking with Syria now, Israel risks inadvertently contributing to the eventual establishment of Hizbullahstan on its northern border.

Megalom-AOUN-ia

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:36:00 +0000

They said an example of the dispute is that Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun has demanded the ministries of finance, public works, health, social affairs as well as the agriculture or industry.

Mr. Aoun has also demanded that Mr. Saniora personally fetch him daily morning caffe lattes from Hamra Starbucks and an afternoon ice cream cone from local gelateria "Al Sa'a" at Nijmeh Square.

Now that's the kind of sacrifice I'm talking about.

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:28:00 +0000

Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun said Monday he gave up his quest for the presidency as a "ransom to free election constituencies from detention."Aoun, talking to reporters after a meeting of his Change and Reform bloc, said his FPM's understanding with Hizbullah is "the best settlement to reach an understanding on Hizbullah weapons."

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Sat, 31 May 2008 07:30:00 +0000

Happy birthday, Israel, 60 this month. Or, rather, happy birthday, Israels. For there are two Jewish states. The first is a vigorous democracy, with a vibrant civil society, a robust independent judiciary and an aggressive free press. It’s a multicul-tural society, boasting Arab members of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament; Arab diplomats and university professors; soldiers and beauty queens; and even a Muslim cabinet minister...

Then there is the second Israel, whose security fence snakes beyond the Green Line, the pre1967 border, cutting deep into Palestinian territory. That Israel subsidises the settlers’ para-state, which has its own water and electricity supplies, its roads forbidden to Palestinians – all guarded by the Israeli army.

Congrats, Israel

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:13:00 +0000

Congratulations, Yeretz Israel on your 60th anniversary. Still a beacon of hope and democracy for your Arab neighbors to emulate.

U.S. Withdraws Fulbright Grants to Gaza (thanks Nour)

Where the next "Doha conference" should be...

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Fri, 30 May 2008 09:24:00 +0000

This is where they should send all the Lebanese leaders the next time they all fuck up.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7426869.stm

I'd like to see Aoun try giving a gardenia to one of those Red Tribesmen. (thanks Zahra)

"Sisterly" Syria

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:57:00 +0000

6:59pm Saniora said he looks forward to cordial relations with foreign countries, including sisterly Syria (Naharnet)

Two things:

(1)Why must Arab countries refer to each other as family members? Because frankly, the inter-Arab screwing that has been happening over the past 60 years is making me a little nauseous, and technically would qualify as incest, which nobody likes, except some weirdos.

(2)If we insist on neighboring countries being family members, can we friggin' decide which member of the family they are? Is Syria the bully brother or the butch sister? Is Israel the smart, athletic step-brother that everybody always compares you to? Is Iran the neurotic, overbearing father? Can't we just decide and stick to it?

Pay no attention to the man behind the Green curtain...

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Wed, 28 May 2008 11:28:00 +0000

What?! Racist Jews?! Is there really such a thing? I think this article is anti-Semetic. Who's with me?

Police in Israel are investigating the burning of hundreds of New Testaments in a city near Tel Aviv, an incident that has alarmed advocates of religious freedom.

Make Hummus, not war...

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:06:00 +0000

Yayy, Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) mini-fieldtrips to Disney World!!!!

We could help greatly by assigning special forces operators to advise each Lebanese battalion. We should spend the money to put each Lebanese battalion through the rotations at the U.S. Army's National Training Center or the Marine Corps Combined Arms Center — both are located in the California high desert. We should have done this with the Iraqis, but we failed to do so. We are just now recovering from that mistake. The Lebanese army is a legitimate — if under-trained and under-supplied — army. It is a viable, but flawed, institution. Our Special Forces guys transformed the armed forces of El Salvador and that is a model to emulate. We did this without a single American death. Let us allow the professionals to do the job...

No nation can be truly sovereign if it cannot control or eliminate armed factions within its borders. Lebanon is no exception. Hezbollah must be brought to heel.

noreply@blogger.com (Antoun) — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:04:00 +0000

The governments of the Middle East, from Iran to Israel and beyond, are increasingly ignoring the wishes of a U.S. administration which has only eight months left in office, going their own way in regional diplomacy.