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.

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

Finally, Justice in Lebanon…

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

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)

The art of getting on your nerves

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.