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.

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?

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.

Two events, same day, same country.
 

Nadine Njeim is coronated Miss Lebanon 2007.


Ziad Ghandour (12) and Ziad Kabalan(25) are mourned in a national tragedy.

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?

 
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.