Throughout this weekend, I’ll be working on upgrading the inner workings of my blog (from wordpress 2.0.2 to 2.5) which explains the weird behavior (like not being able to comment) you might be experiencing. I hope this will be over by Sunday (I’m no expert, so I dabble till things get right, sorry)
I apologize for that, but remember you can always drop me a note to mustapha-at-beirutspring.com
Our beaming capital city, shot from Mount Lebanon using high dynamic range imaging. ( Source )
PS: for those of you who are using a Mac, I noticed that Safari brings out much more colors in this pic than firefox. Try it out.
It is morally wrong to use the election law as a bargaining chip among politicians
Regardless of where you stand in the Lebanese political spectrum, you surely mustn’t be appreciating the idea that the big guys are negotiating political turf at the expense of our livelihood and progress.
Take a minute to think of it. They are not arguing over where the country should be headed or about any ideological battle, they are arguing about the very process that we use to put them in power. A process that should be all about fairness and citizen empowerment, not personal gain and disenfranchisement.
And that’s not all: Add to the injury the insult that the solution to our political crisis is being sold to us as a law that was almost invented before people started watching TV in Lebanon.
The best solution has been under our eyes for a long time, and we, the citizens, should be pushing for it now that the electoral law is pushed back to the front as an issue. We should all be part of the process, and we shouldn’t let the politicians take us for granted.
To take action, Check the website of the Civil Campaign for Electoral Reform where you can read about their progress and help spread the word. There is even an English brochure that you can download here.
Why Mr. Berri’s latest suggestion of exchanging the 1960s law for the presidency won’t go anywhere.
Yet another time wasting “initiative”
On the surface, Mr. Berri’s proposal made this morning to Assafir (always Assafir) is worth looking into. Sure the 1960s law has many flaws, but on balance, the benefits of having a new president surely outweigh the disadvantages of a half-century-old electoral law. In fact, Mr. Berri’s proposal even got FM’s member Mustapha Allouch to promise that March 14 will “look into it”.
The proposal seems like a simple quid-pro-quo and should be able to make headways, shouldn’t it? Well, not if you look Closer:
…a source with Aoun’s FPM said “we are willing to go with the 1960 electoral law …. on condition elections are held within three months from now and under supervision of a neutral, transitional government.”
“Under supervision of a neutral, transitional government.” So we’re back to square one: It all goes back to kicking Mr. Seniora and his cabinet out, an Idea that March 14 rejects on the grounds that it will create a void in the Lebanese government that completes the Syrian plan, which has so far hollowed the Presidency and the Speaker’s seat.
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