Monthly Archives: April 2007

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Something Brewing

Compromise is in the air, but who’s going to give?
 
You know a solution to the Lebanese impasse is in the making when American Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman gives an Interview to Al-Akhbar, a notoriously pro-opposition newspaper, when Naim Kassem is not wagging his fingers too much, when Michel Aoun appears receptive and when Hariri’s Al-mustaqbal newspaper features Palestine, Iraq and Turkey as main news items on its main page.
 
The initial spark that set this virtuous circle moving is the combination of Walid jumblat’s reaction to the murders of Ziad and Ziad, where he sent an olive branch to his political opponents, and Mr. Sanioura’s initiative where he hinted that he doesn’t mind giving the opposition a veto-wielding share of the government as long as they agreed to a pre-determined program.
 
It is unclear how far the PSP leader and his allies are willing to compromise without appearing to be selling out, but what’s clear is that the brutal murder presented March 14 with an opportunity to backtrack without sounding weak.
 
Jumblat, who only recently criticized his own MPs for cheerfully hugging and greeting March 8 MPs whom he described as “peddlers of the culture of death”, might have calculated that the best response to forces who want to destabilize Lebanon is further Lebanese rapprochement.

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Keep'Em High


Lebanese mobile phone users are getting a bad deal. Do they care?
 

 
It is a fact: Lebanon has one of the highest mobile phone rates in the region. But does that mean that tomorrow’s campaign, where thousands of Lebanese will turn their phones off to protest those rates, will be a success?
 
Hardly. The Lebanese consumer can be a difficult beast to understand. Many theories have been made about the Lebanese being a kind of “show-off” consumer. I witnessed it first hand when a retailer told a TV program that if he reduced his prices too much people will stop buying. It is perhaps a stereotype, but there’s no smoke without fire. Lebanese cell-phone usage remains one of the highest in the world despite the ripoff rates.
 
To illustrate our attitude further, here’s a case in point: A Facebook event was created for tomorrow’s boycott and thousands of Lebanese were invited to take part. Here are the statistics until the writing of this post: 4,473 people will take part, 2,312 ignored the invitation, 1710 are not sure yet, and 3,182 declined. Yes, 3,182 people made it a point that they will decline to participate in the boycott. Some are even publicly disputing the event’s worthiness in the group’s forum.
 
Now that’s the kind of consumers producers love, don’t you think?

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Fresh News At The Daily Star


The English language daily now has an e-paper version.
 

 
It has been a truism among Lebanese bloggers that the Daily Star is a hopeless reading experience. A case of good content often hidden under endless layers of gimmicks, solicitations (remember that “Save democracy in the Middle East” beg-vertisment?), browsing hiccups and unrefined, often crude advertising. (Read this complaint by Andy Carvin on how he bumped into Hemorrhoids ads on the Daily Star).
 
This is why I was positively surprised when I found out that the Daily Star now has an e-version of its online newspaper. One that is actually neat and for once provides a good reading experience.
 
The site offers many services, like a search engin, ranking articles, RSS subscription, a picture gallery and a PDF version, all for what seems to me like an affordable price of $9.95 a month.
 
Still, this step is not enough and a lot of work remains to be done on its original, free site.

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Hezbollah's Billboard


Provoking Israel or sending them a message?
 

 
The billboard above was erected by Hezbollah to remind Israel of their prisoners. Many are saying that the billboards are meant to provoke the Israelis.
 
But since the swap talks are at an “advanced stage”, could it be that the billboard is simply a Hezbollah negotiation concession? A convoluted way of Hezbollah telling the Israelis that the prisoners are still alive?

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Irresponsible Albalad


 
A centrist newspaper takes sensationalism a bit too far.
 

 
We are in a very sensitive situation. Everyone, including politicians, is calling for restraint and for reframing the terrible crime as an opportunity to resume dialog.
 
Enter Albalad, a “family” newspaper, with a gory frontpage image of the two defaced bodies of the victims.
 
Nothing can explain such irresponsible behavior but sheer commercial opportunism. Albalad should be punished and ashamed for exploiting the blood of the deceased for material gain and for not caring about the consequences such images can have on the tense situation or on the feelings of the victims’ families.

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A Trap


The kidnapping (and now, killing) of two P.S.P youths should be seen for what it is: An attempt at provocation.
 


 
One look at the comments section in Naharnet’s coverage of the incident is enough to give us a clear idea of how high the feelings are running in Lebanon right now. A PSP sympathizer threatens from his comfortable seat in Dubai that they will “hunt Hezbollah Down”. Another hot head from, you guessed it, Dallas TX makes it more clear: “Return them or else”.
 
It is not yet clear who kidnapped Ziad Ghandour and Ziad Kabalan (pictured), but the objective might precisely be the “or else” above. An “Anonymous source” (always anonymous) throws in the theory that it might be a vendetta act from Hezbollah members to revenge the killing of one of their own.
 
The country is rife with rumors, politicians are scrambling to contain the situation and armed forces have spread all over Beirut to establish security. What’s imperative right now is that we all stand back from the brink and cool our heads.
 
Perhaps something good might come out of this incident too. For the first time in months, Druze leader walid Jumblat spoke with Speaker Berri. Let’s hope that this crisis ends and turns into an opportunity.

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Ready For Prime Time

Ok, I’m finally done tinkering with this thing (fingers crossed). I hope you noticed the difference and like the results.
 

Supposedly, everything should be in place. This is why I kindly ask you to point out any broken link / malfunction / bug you might bump into.
 

To recap, the star-ratings should be working well now (even from www.beirutspring.com ), I encourage you to use them because they will be used later to feature the posts that are best rated on the sidebar.
 

Also, as you can see, I have added some feeds for a variety of Lebanese and Middle eastern bloggers. The feeds are all from good blogs that I chose carefully. That said, I do not necessarily agree with everything that other people poste.
 

I also changed the header for a better look, all that is left now is the actual beef.
 

Thank you for reading my blog.

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Is Lahoud Abdicating?


The President packs up, takes his family and goes to Qatar. Is it just a trip?
 
I’m usually suspicious when I read stuff in a Kuwaiti tabloid about Lebanon. So when Al–Syassa wrote a few weeks ago that Lebanese President Emile Lahoud might seek asylum in Qatar for himself and for his family, I naturally laughed it off.
 
But a few weeks later, lo and behold, Mr. Lahoud actually is leaving today for Qatar “with his family” according to Future T.V.
 
Qatar? Is that a place where Presidents usually take their vacations? Let’s wait and see.

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Depressed? How About A Brand New Bosom?


A Lebanese bank thinks it knows exactly what Lebanese women need

 

 
You got a country with two large political group clamping at each other’s throat, both furiously accusing each other of causing economic mayhem and financial collapse. Meanwhile, a bank comes out of the blues thinking it can make money out of helping women (and men) pump their lips.
 

After pitying the 64 year olds who can’t benefit from such a wonderful opportunity, you start scratching your head wondering whether it all makes sense. But hey, the world is never short of people who want to explain things to you. Here are my favorite explanations:
 
1- Alarabiya: People are too tired from politics and too depressed, so they want to forget about it all by feeling better about themselves. This is why they “embellish their noses, grow their boobs, tighten their tummies and enlarge their cheeks and lips”
 
2- Dr. Nabil Sader, the president of the Lebanese Association of Cosmetic Surgeons to the Daily Star:

“People are not going out anymore so they are staying home looking in the mirror, [...] since they’re not spending their money at night they come to get work done [..] plastic surgery here is competitively priced and meets the highest standards.
 
Of course, many Lebanese take this news with a hint of pride: We hedonists never die. Unfortunately, this is just one side of the coin. A fifteen year study concluded that women with breast implants are much more likely to commit suicide.
 
Maybe a suicide loan can come next and this will turn out to be nothing but laying the grounds? now THAT will be lucrative.