You can now access the mobile version of this blog on m.beirutspring.com. This includes an Iphone version (complete with an app icon!) for those of you who are waiting in line and can’t wait to get your BS fix.

** Update: Mobile servers are being upgraded so there’s no access at the moment **

Are all forms of censorship wrong? Are there some that are more permissible than others?

NowLebanon points out the difference between censoring the DaVinci Code and censoring Persepolis:

Censorship is always a divisive issue, a tool that is often the hallmark of repression and authoritarianism – we saw it with Lebanon’s equally bigoted banning of the Di Vinci Code in 2006, over the film’s controversial treatment of Christianity – but this instance was all the more sinister in that it was carried out to protect the delicate sensibilities of a foreign, rather than Lebanese entity. And not just any foreign entity: one that is actively working to impose itself on Lebanon, through massive spending, military training and political interference in Lebanon’s Hezbollah-led opposition.

But before you get all carried away and righteous about all censorships being wrong on principle, I offer you a challenge: Fitna.

Should it be censored or not?

Am I the only one who noticed a disproportionate amount of Lebanese flags behind Mr. Seniora as he addressed the Arab countries?

No really, think of it. What do 12 flags say, that 3 flags or 5 flags won’t? In the US, Mr. Obama made a speech with a bunch of American flags behind him because his detractors were casting doubt on his patriotism. But does Mr. Seniora have a rationale of his own? Does each Lebanese flag represent a country that didn’t attend the Damascus summit?

HAVING THIS MANY FLAGS SEEMS TO ME LIKE TYPING AN ALL-CAPS SENTENCE TO SAY “LEBANON STILL EXISTS”

Any Ideas?