New Year Resolutions

The new year is upon us and most of us will have some resolutions that we try to stick to. Most of us are unsuccessful, but we try anyway. A good measure of this phenomenon for me is watching the dynamics at my school gym. Usually the first week after the New Year, everybody is at the gym. You'd be lucky if you find an empty bench to do some presses. Give that a couple of weeks or so and then you are guaranteed to have an almost empty gym by February or March.

So, what's Lebanon's or Michel Sleiman's 2010 resolution?

Cleaning up house, otherwise known as reform.

But my question to you Mr. President, why wait till 2010? Why after the New Year? Why the 'eff not when you were elected President?

You'd think one would want to immediately start the reformation process once elected to office.

My guess is however that this is another New Year's resolution that will not see the light of day.

Good luck with that your excellency.

And to my readers, good luck with you New Year's resolutions.

BG

Hariri Jr. government gets confidence vote

The newly birthed Hariri government finally gets a vote of confidence to start officially working and implementing its now infamous "governmental statement". For those of you who are new to Lebanese politics, an appointed PM puts together a government that in turn drafts a program or statement that it presents to the parliament in a bid to earn the confidence of the majority or else everything goes back to square one.

So after 3 long days of "debating" the governmental statement, and after a total of 6 sessions, 66 MPs debating and a whopping 26 hours of total "talk" (#'s are the courtesy of Nabih Berri), the government earned its confidence vote with 122 out of 128 voting to grant their confidence to the new government.

4 MPs were missing in action:

• Dorry Chamoun
• Talal Irslan
• Nabil Nqoula
• Hashem Alem El Din

One MP decided to not vote either way:

• Imad El Hout

And one MO voted to not grant confidence:

• Nqoula Fattoush

Imad El Hour's decision to not vote either yes or no was a bit weird, given that he represents Jamaa Islamiya, which to my understanding is part of Hariri's coalition.

The Nqoula Fattoush decision is not that surprising. He is a lone MP representing Zahle, not part or any coalition so to speak, largely his making though. He tried to outmaneuver his fellow March 14 MPs on the Zahle list, but proved to be ineffective and was booted out of the coalition. His vote of no confidence is more so a bitter response of a sore loser rather than a real disagreement over the governmental statement. He will soon regret that decision.

The majority confidence vote is not a shocker in anyway; it is a government of national unity after all. What's shocking the most is the charade these MPs put on for 3 days in a row thinking that any Lebanese citizen with their complete mental capacities will actually believe anything they say.

But then again, this is Lebanon.

BG

HIV as a death sentence, literally.

Everybody knows that a diagnosis with HIV is not the death sentence it used to be years ago, due to many improvements in anti-retroviral drugs and the emergence of new therapies.

However, some politicians in Uganda are trying to change that, literally.

Lawmakers in Uganda are trying to pass a new anti-homosexuality bill that would make it even more difficult for someone to be gay in that country. Mind you, homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, but the new bill will introduce even tougher penalties for being gay/engaging in homosexual acts.

The bill has a lot of disturbing penalties and clauses in it. The most disturbing however is the clause in the bill that allows the state to execute anyone who tests positive for HIV. Yes, you read that right. People who test positive for the virus that causes AIDS can be put to death.

Other oddities of the bill include a measure that will allow prosecution of gays that have engaged in homosexual acts outside of Uganda but can still be put on trial for it in Uganda itself. Sounds more like a lynching campaign to me.

I will spare you the annoying details, however the bill is rife with various basic-human-rights-insulting-clauses. Feel free to browse it at this link. Just a quick review of the table of contents is sufficient enough to give any human being a severe headache.

BG

RIP Elie Kanaan

Elie Kanaan, a critically acclaimed Lebanese painter has just passed away.

Winner of multiple awards and recognitions, most notably the "Salon du Printemps", "UNESCO's Prize" and "Prix Vendome".

Artist Website

Youtube Video

BG

No one ran against Nasrallah

I think that's the best line of the entire article.

BG

Stupid of the Day Award 4

Check this guy out celebrating Egypt's win over Algeria in a Soccer match.



Oh, and check out the guy on the right trying to get in on the action.
I believe that these are highly pressurized and evidently highly flammable canisters that normally should not be close to any source of fire.

Both much deserving of our coveted Stupid of the Day Award!

BG

FINALLY

It's about time!

The US congress has just passed a law that would make it a crime to assault any person because of his or her sexual orientation! You'd think that assaulting people in general should be frowned upon, but apparently not with the gays, up until now that is!

Kudos for congress.

Still lots of work to be done for a country such as the USA, but this is definitely a good start.

BG

Solde w Akbar!

Do you guys remember that show back in the day on MTV (Lebanese one) where Mireille Mazraani (at least I think that's what her name was) would be screaming solde w akbar all the time?

Well it seems that the Lebanese judiciary has gotten on board that ship.

Check out this news clip from LBC reporting on the judiciary seeking the death penalty for a bunch of arrested terrorists.

These are the guys that had been arrested for involvement in the Tripoli van bombing that killed a dozen or so Lebanese Army personnel.

This is what they have been accused of/what they have admitted to:

• Tripoli bombing
• Francois El Hajj assassination
• Wissam Eid assassination
• UNIFIL bombing in the south
• Involvement in the assassination of Pierre Gemayel, or at least owning the weapon used
• Possible involvement in the Damascus bombing
• Planning the assassination of Ashraf Rifi

Does it seem a bit odd that these guys are pretty much responsible for almost every single little bombing/assassination that happened in the past couple years in Lebanon AND Syria?

Is the government putting the blame on a group/bunch of people to avoid blaming somebody else because of whatever political and security reasons?

Basically, is there a cover-up going on that someone should make a bigger fuss about?

And does it not seem odd that not a single politician in Lebanon has said anything about this? Or even praised the judiciary and the security services for their excellent investigative techniques (read as detainee abuse), which is pretty much what they do all the time in similar incidents?

This does not smell right to me!

BG

Stupid of the Day Award 3

In other Libya related news, check out these idiots who planned an assassination by mail. Much deserving of our Stupid of the Day Award.

BG

Good Old Qaddafi #2

The only good thing about having a lunatic dictator for a ruler of a rogue country, is the inordinate amount of blogging material provided.

So, for your (and our) periodic dose of entertainment, we present to you Good Old Qaddafi at the UN. He made an extra effort to appear this year, for the first time ever, to celebrate 40 years in office!

I'm sure most of you have either heard or read about his antics at the UN this past week. My absolute favorite part is his rant about the Taliban and how that is, in his view, comparable to the Vatican, yes the Vatican, you read right. The thought goes on to venture into how Iraq should have a civil war, after all both the US and Spain had civil wars and turned out fine.

The best part about the whole presentation is the paper on which his notes are written. I mean, SERIOUSLY? Could he not have used decent paper at least, and not appeared to have torn these out of his grand child's school notebook? Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos's take on it.

In other Qaddafi related news, he was apparently looking for a place to stay at while in the US. As it turns out, New Jersey turned down his request to pitch a tent there. Here's Letterman's take on it.

In other sexually-deprived, America-hating, self-righteous, egomaniac dictator news, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela managed to have a little chat with a reporter from Fox News. Check out his response to a Holocaust/Ahmadinejad related question. I can't say I disagree with his assessment of Fox News though!

On the other hand, Ahmadinejad's speech was a disappointment. No antics or pompous rants and definitely no quotable moments for this blogger. What a shame.

BG

Jumblatt versus Peres

Israel's president Shimon Peres fainted the other day and was soon after released from the hospital after having been checked out by doctors.

Jumblatt had this to say about the incident:

حتى إبليس بالأمس رفض إستقبال شمعون بيريس بعدما إستدعاه للحظات في غيبوبة لو أتاح القدر أن تكون نهائية لكان العالم تخلص من تلك الاكذوبة التاريخية التي مثلها ذلك الرجل على مر عقود من الصراع العربي- الاسرائيلي، وهو الذي لعب أدورا عديدة خلال كل محاور هذا الصراع. ونتمنى على إبليس في المرة المقبلة ألا يخطئ في حساباته ويدعوه اليه لمرة واحدة وأخيرة، عله بذلك يفيد البشرية في مكان ما

A quick and rough translation: even Satan has refused to welcome Peres after fainting and if fate had willed it to be final, the world would have gotten rid of this historic lie that this guy has embodied for decades during the Arab-Israeli conflict . . . and we hope (or rather wish) that the next time around, for Satan to calculate correctly and invite Peres to him one final time, maybe this way, he (Satan that is) would benefit humanity in some way.

Whether you like Jumblatt or not, you have to agree that he is sometimes very theatrical and amusing!


BG

Overheard

Overheard during a lunch with LaZaytouni:

Guy at the next table, talking to woman seated across from him: this is so fun, watching that woman parallel park is better than watching a movie!

Another classic!

BG

Lebanese Cabinet

Armand Homsi is at it again!
I love that guy, he's a genius.


(click on image for larger view)
Hariri-Aoun meeting chez Mr. Le President, aka Fakhamto!

Basically, Aoun and Hariri meet under the supervision of Baabda Palace Occupant to try and break the wall between them that is supposedly hampering the birth of a new government in Lebanon. Yep, that wall was broken alright!

Yes, supervision: since both politicians (actually all politicians) are acting like children and need to be supervised!
Yes, Occupant: since given his constitutional powers, our beloved President is nothing more than a space filler!

And as for the government, that thing needs a c-section now, no natural birth here!
It is far easier to believe the Immaculate Conception than to believe that this government will see the light anytime soon.

Oh, and whoever tells you that Syria is not behind this severe crippling of the Lebanese political system, is flat out LYING to you.

BG

Lebanese Syrian Relations 4

A recent incident occurring on the Lebanese-Syrian border has put the issue of border demarcation between Lebanon and Syria at the forefront again.

It took Syria about 60 some years to recognize Lebanon as an independent and sovereign nation by finally agreeing (albeit under pressure) to exchange diplomatic missions with Beirut. This however, has not stopped Syria from wanting and working towards the goal of meddling in Lebanese internal affairs to assure it's hegemony over anything Lebanese.

The mere presence of an ambassador in Beirut is not proof enough that Syria believes, wants, and works towards a free and independent Lebanon. After all, nobody hears anything from the guy, and he rarely appears in public. There is no shortage of issues that need to be dealt with when it comes to Lebanese-Syrian relations, and this blog has previously listed some of them.

One of the main issues, is the demarcation of the Lebanese-Syrian border. Syria has refused for years to demarcate the Lebanese border for various reasons that I will not get into in this post. However, one reason the border should be demarcated is the recent spat between the village of Arsal and the neighboring Syrian villages. Farmers and residents from both sides of the border have agricultural land that they tend to. The catch here is that since the border is not demarcated, and the propriety of the land is in question, and since apparently Wild West mentalities (video) are prevalent, every now and then, each time somebody goes out to tend to their land, they get killed. Usually, casualties are mostly on the Lebanese side of the border, however this time around, both a Syrian and a Lebanese were killed. The villagers are hoping that this will serve as a deterrent to what they see as a clear, concrete and constant violation of their rights by the Syrians.

Whatever the reasons are for Syria to not demarcate the border between the two countries, this however should not be used as an excuse or pretext by the Lebanese government to not protect its citizens and ensure their rights, no matter where they be found on Lebanese land.

It's time for the Lebanese government to take serious actions to pressure the international community and Syria to force a demarcation of the Lebanese-Syrian border. If this cannot be easily achieved, I believe that the Lebanese government should take unilateral actions to demarcate the border itself, at the very least to protect its citizens and territorial integrity.


BG

Having Sex in Lebanon

I have a story for you. It’s a sad story. My 22 year old best friend just started having sex, obviously pre-marriage. So we were talking, and I happened to ask her what kind of protection she’s using.
“He pulls out,” she says.
I’m, sorry, what?? Yes, yes, ‘he pulls out’ was her response. No condoms, she is not on the pill, no plan B, nothing.

Oh, sorry, let me note that this is all taking place in Lebanon.

So I begin to patiently lecture my friend about the fact that the pulling out method can still get you pregnant, that it does nothing to prevent STDs, and then I go to the computer, do some research on all these things, and send info to her in an email.

She then proceeds to have sex two more times using, again, only the pulling out method.

Ok, so part of this is, no offense, because my friend is being an idiot, and the bigger part of it is there being NO SEX EDUCATION IN LEBANESE SCHOOLS. Yes, I realize it is a conservative society in the sense that people, more specifically women, are expected to wait until marriage until having sex. Let’s not get into how ridiculous that is and that the same is not expected of men and that that is a double standard which makes no sense unless these men are fucking each other.

So again I look up more information and send it to my friend. I also tell her we are setting her an appointment this week with a doctor to get her a prescription for birth control.

This morning I stopped by a pharmacy to buy her condoms and the morning after pill. She asked me to do it for her because I guess she is too embarrassed to do so herself. Goes to show you how much sex is a taboo in Lebanese society. Even more taboo is that I walked into the pharmacy and as there were two other customers there, I walked out, not wanting to buy condoms and try to explain the morning after pill (il suba7 b3daan pill?) to the pharmacist. I felt like a coward, but I looked at my watch pretending to be late for something and got the hell out of there. I’m planning on going back on my way home tonight, fingers crossed that no one else will be there.

Anyway, I was really disappointed to see how little my very intelligent, well-educated friend knew about sex. It made me wonder how little other Lebanese people knew about this. Obviously they don’t talk about it with their parents. I mean fuck, I remember a couple of years ago my girlfriends here thought that virgins couldn’t use condoms because it would break their hymen. They were like 21 at the time.

So looking up information for my friend I found out about this sex hotline in Lebanon where you can call and get information on sex and ask any questions you want anonymously. It wasn’t even easy info to find. So the point of this post, I hope someone in need will come across this in their search on the internet, or will send it to a friend in need (as you can see by the many, many labels I have attached to this post). Let’s do our part to avoid unwanted pregnancies and the spreading of STDs until the government starts doing its part and requiring sex education.


So girls and guys, my advice to you? Stay safe and go to your pharmacy and buy condoms (keep a couple on you at all times) and the morning after pill, you never know when you or your partner will need it.
Girls, if you’re having sex regularly, go to the doctor and get a prescription for birth control. If you’re worried your doctor will tell your parents, they can’t if you’re an adult (over 18) as doctor-patient confidentiality exists. Also, you can tell you doctor you are having really bad periods that are painful and want to go on birth control, which is very common, so you can be on birth control with your parents knowing…(in case you need them to pay for it). And please, no sex without condoms. Are you interested in getting AIDS or gonorrhea?

Stay safe,

Love

LZ

PS: Many may be wondering why the guy himself didn’t use condoms. Apparently he is convinced that the pulling out method works, that all the times he has used condoms it breaks, that when ur in the heat of the moment you really don’t want to put a condom on, and probably also that its not quite as pleasurable for him. Well I’m sorry, but fuck him. Is he the one that is going to end up pregnant? Is he ready to be a father? Do you want the STDs that he is going to give you from having unprotected sex with other women? And if he doesn’t even care about you enough to put on a condom to protect the both of you, why the hell would you want to be having sex with him anyway?

PPS: Thanks to the anonymous post from before for directing me on how to get through the Arabic language obstacle on blogspot.com

_______________

If you're in Lebanon and have questions about sex, AIDS, STDs, etc., call the LFPA or SIDC anonymously.

The Lebanon Family Planning Association (LFPA)

Contact InformationTelephone: (961) 1/ 318575 or (961) 1/ 311978Fax: (961) 1/ 318575 or (961) 1/ 311978

E-mail: lfpa@arabnet.com.lb

P.O. Box: 118240 Corniche El Mazraa, Masken Bldg

SOURCE: http://www.infoyouth.org/cd_rmed/English/org_lb/lfpa.htm

and also

'Soins Infirmiére et Développement Communautaire' (SIDC),

Youssef Karam st, Daou bldg, 1st floor Sin El Fil El Metn Lebanon
01 480714, 01 482428 01 480714, 01 482428
P.O.Box: 55391 – Sin El Fil

SOURCE: http://www.sidc-lebanon.org/index.php

~LZ

Politics as a hobby?

Can somebody please explain to me how a Prime Minister-designate tasked with the almost impossible job of forming a Lebanese government decides to take a family vacation to France??

For crying out loud, should he not be trying to form a government as soon as possible that can tackle the multiple issues that are plaguing the Lebanese people, most importantly pressing economic needs and minimum bare standards of living, rather than vacationing with his family?

I don't know about the rest of the Lebanese people, but the official reason and statement issued by his parliamentary block was definitely not making sense to me:

"Hariri wanted to distance himself from the heated rhetoric regarding the cabinet’s formation and the political make-up of the March 14 coalition."

Well, taking a break every once in a while is fine, but the timing could not have been any worse. The need to form a government in Lebanon that will actually try to handle the multiple problems we have is and should be of paramount importance to all politicians, and especially so the politician tasked with putting that government together.

Oh, and if every politician in Lebanon were to take a break and leave to blow some steam every time Walid Jumblat maneuvers or takes a new position, then I think politicians will spend more time outside than inside Lebanon and we'd only be left with Jumblat as the sole politician in Lebanon.

Accountability people!

These guys need to be held accountable. If they were, I don't think Hariri would take the issue of premiership lightly and Jumblat would definitely stick to a position for longer than 24 hrs.

BG

Blatant Racism

Lebanon still has a lot to go when it comes to issues of race, class and religion.
Just check out this article and you'll know what I mean.

Now Lebanon link

This is racist and absolutely unacceptable.

BG

LZ in Cedarland

"Hey guys! I apologize for not posting. Initially it was because I was in my Northern Lebanese mountain village with no internet access. Now that I am working in Beirut during the week, my excuse is much more shameful. Blogspot.com is in Arabic and I cannot figure out how to log on and post. Sigh, sad I know. That would also explain why BG is posting this message for me instead of me posting it myself.

As a side note, I have only just discovered the amazingness that is Beirut Taxi Drivers and the service system. Someone needs to make a movie about it.

All my love,

LZ"

BG

Really?!

British National Party leader had this to say about immigrants and people of ethnic background in his country:

"Britain is full, overcrowded and clearly terribly terribly unstable as a result of this multicultural experiment."

And what about those immigrants that want to come to the UK?

"What needs to be done as an example is to sink a couple of boats near the shores of Libya - throw them lifebelts so they can paddle back, so they understand they will never get to Europe."

*****************
Elsewhere on the beloved European continent . . .

The Greek police has demolished a camp used by immigrants and according to the story, the camp had become some sort of an "eyesore".

"The camp had been a source of tension with many Greeks who regarded it as a major eyesore for themselves and for tourists arriving from Italy."

******************

All this sort of makes the treatments of Arabs and Muslims in America post 9-11 seem like a stroll in the park.

BG

Ahmadinejad got owned

This is exactly why Obama kicks ass!

BG