Is It Elias el Murr Again?

Ever since Ain Alak tragic bombing, we are welcoming every morning with more and more news about bombs being found here, and explosives being found there. This horrible news haven't spared any Lebanese area. All areas, from the North all the way to Mount Liban to Beirut, the Lebanese are living in never-ending fear of this unexplainable bombs and explosives being found.

So, what the hell is going on? How come all of a sudden, explosives are being found everywhere, specially in trash? Well, here is a theory:

It's Elias el Murr! Ever since the last explosion, Mr. Murr has been initiating a full campaign to locate and capture as much explosives as possible. He was very clear about that when Marcel Ghanim, the famous media man, hosted him in his talk-show "Kalam el Nass" on LBC.

The Army and the Internal Security forces are doing an enormous job. Just yesterday, they were able to capture 3 people with high-tech-state-of-the-are explosives that can be set up to explode for up to more than 100 days! Reporters said that this incident took place 8 days ago, and looking back in time we can see that most of the "explosives in trash" incidents happened in the past week.

It seems that those who are having bombs and explosives are afraid to get caught, so afraid that they decided it would be better to through them in garbage instead of being caught by the Army or the Internal Security Forces. And so, we are welcomed everyday with more and more explosives in our neighbourhoods.

Hopefully this is true, for it means that finally the authorities are doing their job. Maybe we should be happy every time we discover new explosives in trash, for it means that there's a campaign by the state, and it is working effectively....

Lahoud Countdown Timer

Ever since I put the countdown timer on the top my blog, I feel delighted every time I open my blog as I realize that we are getting closer and closer to get rid of him.

We're getting there ladies and gentlemen. we are so close :)

Cold Civil War??!

Mostafa, posted an article about "Cold Civil War" today that actually irritated me deeply. He was so cruel in describing our nowadays situation, specially in saying that we wish if the "others" never existed.

Nevertheless, a kind of what he said happened with me today! I was having lunch with friends, good friends actually, one pro-Aounest and the other if pro-LF. We were having "moghrabieh", and I happened to mention that though it is very tasty, but the one done in Tripoli is much better. That's when my friends asked me: "Where from the North you are originally from?" "From Tripoli" I answered. I was then totally shocked to hear their comments after.

"Sunnies are awful people, how can you stand living with them?" "Take politics aside, you can deal with Shiites, but when it comes to Sunnies, you just don't know what will happen, they are far too fundamentalists!"

I'm NOT going to go into farther details, but It seemed as if they are talking about a whole different people that I don;t know. The majority of Tripoli population are Sunnies, but I never felt or saw what my two dear friends were saying. I've never had such "real" problems based on sectarian reasons in Tripoli before. Sure, there are fundamentalists, I won't deny that, but to accuse a whole sect of being "awful and incommunicable people" is just insane to me. I tried my best to clarify the huge misunderstanding that my two friends were having, but then I realized that both of them never lived in Tripoli, and their opinions about the Sunnies community came from "What their friends and relatives say", and NOT based on personal experiences.

Same thing happens if you are to go to the North and listen how people their describe the Shiites. Again, all these "stereotypes" are based on common talks from friends and relatives and NOT from real time experiences.

I don't know how I can describe what I feel, but it's too sad to see that such language has reached the surface in Liban again. I've been living permanently in Liban for 6 years now, but I never based my friendships on sectarian scales, and I still don't believe in "generalizations" and "stereotypes". And most of my friends are NOT of my sect, in fact I never took sects as a factor in choosing my friends. Which is why I chose to disagree with what Mostafa mentioned in his blog, but I saw what he said right in front of me this afternoon. Coming to think about it, maybe Mostafa has a point......

Jounieh Telefrique Crisis

UPDATE:
According to LBC, 5 poeple were held in cabinets, 2 of which were saved and the rest 3 are awaiting to be rescued. Telefrique officials said that a "technical fault" took place, but "nothing is serious, it just need time to put the cables back in place".

News are spreading all over the town.

It seems that Jounieh telefrique's cables has derailed! And people now are stuck in the cabinets while the civil defense forces are trying to help them! Reports says that some people have fainted, and others are screaming. The crisis started over an hour ago, and I don't know what or how it happened.

More news to come as I know anything about it. Feel free to comment or add any info about the subject.

Loss of Faith?

Recently, more and more numbers of people are starting to accept a new "concept". Talking to different kinds of persons; doctors, students, and workers, you can hear more and more the following phrase:

"We all know who assassinated the Late R. Hariri, and we all know that there is NO WAY they are going to accept the formation of the tribunal. The more we insist on the tribunal, the more we will suffer from instability and insecurity in Liban. Maybe we should just forget about the tribunal, it seems nothing is going to change anyway..."

Is it loss of faith? Did the Lebanese gave up on the dream they once hoped it could come true? To reach a stage where you are willing to accept that those who killed the best of our youth are NOT to be punished, and to accept to live under the continuous terror of being assassinated once you try to swim against the current, this means that you have reached the stage of hopelessness.

Many politicians are advertising for this, mainly the famous Mr. Weam Wahhab, who keeps saying that as long as we are seeking the tribunal, we are NOT going to have any stability. And that the ONLY way to regain stability and security is to forget about the tribunal, and just move on, as we did many and many times before.

But let's think logically, is this really an option? What does it mean to just forget about the tribunal? What kind of messages will we be sending those who commit all these crimes? Aren't we accepting the logic of "Do as told, or else you are dead!"? How can we change anything in this country after that? We all know that corruption has infected the whole country, and we all know very well that there are those who benefit from such corruption, how would we be able to fight corruption then? Won't that be considered as "swimming against the current"? And so assassination will continue, unless of course, we decided to accept corruption as well. And the chain goes on and on.

NO! We can't accept such thing, it would be as if we signed our death certificate. Why did we ran in streets? Why did we shout loudly asking for change? Is it so in two years of time we give up, accept the painful reality and try to move on?

NO! We can't forget about the tribunal. It's NOT just to find out who assassinated Hariri. It's much much more than that. It's our way to STOP the logic of force in Liban. It's our way to build a true country, where everybody knows that when you try to break the law, you are going to be punished, that when you want to live, you have to respect the law, and abide by it. It's our way to stop corruption and find a way to revive our dying economy.

Tribunal is a corner-stone in our seek of a true independent Liban, and giving up the tribunal means that we are giving up our dream of a better Liban. And frankly, we don't deserve the country if we are willing to give up on it. ALL OF US paid BLOOD for this country and I don't think that our grandparents are more of patriots than us; like they sacrificed before us, we should do the same today, so that one day, we can make a true country. This is why we can't loose faith, and this is why we can't give up on the tribunal.

The late Gebran Tueni once said: "You can question the political leaders, you can disagree with them, you can even give up on them, but NEVER EVER give up on March 14th spirit, It is YOU who made that day, it is YOU who wanted the change, never doubt that, never doubt Liban"

The Cedar's Revolution

Even Civilians.....

Why? No body can answer this. Or in the Lebanese version, each side has its own answer. But what about the innocent people? Are they satisfied by such answers?

Note: Pictures taken from: www.bbcarabic.com

Wall of Beirut

I decided to go to Beirut Down Town and see what have happened to our nation's beating heart. This is what I saw.....

The heart of Beirut was converted into the "Wall of Beirut" similar to the famous "Wall of Berlin"; separating supporters of the nation two political sides. Sadness overwhelmed me as I was taking pictures and videos to the sad reality we are living nowadays....

The Solution

Yesterday, Mr. Jeajea was on LBC, and today's morning, a HA official was on LBC too. Watching the two men talking, I've come to be more and more convinced that the conflict is not coming to an end. Each side seems to be -more than ever- clinching to its point of view, and refusing even simple adjustment to how things should go.

It has been clear by now that the country has been polarized so much that reason and logic have no place anymore, and it would be a total waste of time trying to convince the other side about your point of view. It's no longer about right or wrong, it has turned into a "Bone-breaking-contest" that none seems to be interested in ending it.

Looking at the situation, one can easily see that the future is bleak, and that hope for a resolution is far far away. So, what should we do? How can this conflict come to an end?

Well, objectively speaking, we can say that both sides are wrong at the same time, and being stubborn doesn't lead to anything but more and more tension in the streets. It seems that what we need is to simply -eliminate- the worries of each side and establish a new beginning to solve all the current issues.

March 14th says that its main worry is that giving March 8th the "blocking third" gives the opposition the upper hand in the "Council of Ministers", since they can topple the government at any moment. March 8th, on the other hand, says that allowing March 14th to have the "Controlling two thirds" of the government allows them to do whatever they want without even considering March 8th opinions.

Obviously, March 14th is not willing to give the "blocking third" to the opposition, and March 8th is not wiling to give the majority the "controlling two thirds".

Then the solution would simply be "disarming" both sides of the "powers" that worries the other side. A 19-10-1 confirmation would disarm March 14th from the "controlling two thirds", so they won't be able to take any decision unless March 8th accepts it, and at the same time, such confirmation would disarm the opposition from the "blocking third", so they won't be able to topple the government.

Such government, would be responsible for:
Reaching an agreement regarding the presidential elections
Reaching an agreement regarding the Tribunal
Reaching an agreement regarding a new fair electoral law
Reaching an agreement regarding the "Constitutional Council"
And most importantly, solving Liban daily issues and put an end to the paralysis that has infected Liban

All problems can be addressed in the government or the parliament, while the Lebanese daily life and issues are being run appropriately.

It seems like this is the only "middle" solution available nowadays, especially when knowing that the presidential elections are so near, and if the conflict is not resolved, we will end up arguing about the government, the presidency and the parliament. Paralysing the three institutions is NOT the way; it will lead to a farther ciaos and the chance of running into a new civil war will be higher higher, if it won't be the only last solution then......

Palestinian Model

It seems that the conflict we are having in Lebanon is not that different than the one taking place in Palestinian territories.

Lately, "Hamas" and "Fateh" supporters have been engaging in violent actions in Gaza strip, that lead to a Saudi attempt to gather the two sides in Mekka to reach a solution. The main points in the agenda is to form a "Unity government" to put an end to the escalation in the streets.

Is this what will happen in Liban? Would escalations in Liban reach a stage where the "unity government" will be the price to stop the violence in streets?

Both, March 14th and March 8th are continuously declaring that they don't won't things to get out of control. But how would things come to an end then? Would the opposition try to imitate the Palestinian model if it was proven to be effective there?

Things are getting more and more complicated, and no one seems to be able to predict what will happen next.....

Hard Rock Cafe

Lovely Monday night at Hard Rock Cafe...

Will We See Such Day Soon?

Taken from: http://www.annahronline.com

Resolve it, Solve it

I got this in my e-mail, and thought of helping in distributing it. Hope you will be able to participate......

RESOLVE IT, SOLVE IT

Our Parents couldn’t stop it in 1975, are we going to relive it in 2007?

You may be feeling powerless in the midst of colors and slogans, propaganda and violence. You may be sitting at home anxious about your present and fearful for your future. Perhaps you have already turned off the news.

There are ALWAYS alternative and peaceful channels to turn to.

As concerned citizens we reject empty promises, propaganda, subliminal calls to violence, and sectarian rhetoric. We refuse civil war. Act immediately before it is too late.

Join us to create a human chain, hand in hand, in Beirut on Saturday, February 10th at 2 pm to take a stand and publicly demand a dialogue to end the political deadlock immediately. (See map)

We call on the politicians to sit down and resolve this crisis.

Compromise is not Failure.

Resolve it, Solve it

CREATE A SOLUTION THERE’S NO EXCUSE Demand CIVIL solutions NOW

and say NO CIVIL WAR